A boy from suburban Montreal, Felix Auger-Aliassime built his game around a heavy serve and an aggressive forehand, tennis played forward off the first ball. The talent was never in doubt; the finishing was. He lost his first eight tour-level finals, a run stretching from 2019 into 2021 that made him a byword for the near miss. The breakthrough came in Rotterdam early in 2022, over the top seed for a maiden trophy, and he has since gathered 10 career titles.
The bigger stage has twice opened at Flushing Meadows. In 2021 he became the first Canadian man to reach a US Open semi-final, stopped only by Daniil Medvedev; in 2025 he returned to the last four, beating Alexander Zverev along the way. He entered the top 10 in November 2021 and later climbed to a career high inside the top five, the best by a Canadian since Milos Raonic. The major, still 0 titles, has not come, but the serve keeps the door ajar.
Thirteen. That is where Alejandro Davidovich Fokina now stands in the ATP rankings, up 13 places from 26, a career high one place past his old best of 14 and an entry into the top 20.
Ranking taleFifteen. That is how many places Jaume Munar climbed this week, from 64 to 49, to put a Tokyo qualifier inside the top 50. Valentin Vacherot rose four places to a career-high No. 14, and Jiri Lehecka and Francisco Cerundolo both crossed into the top 20, so the band between 14 and 50 looks different from the one it replaced.
Ranking tale