The Baseline Player of the Week: Felix Auger-Aliassime

Every week Baseline will select a “Player of the Week.” That athlete may not always win the highest category tournament that week, but perform the best compared to their recent playing history.

Felix Auger-Aliassime, the Canadian phenom who garnered attention as a 14-year-old when he became the youngest player to ever win an ATP Challenger-level match, became the seventh-youngest to capture an ATP Challenger title in history.

He did it by beating world No. 171-ranked Mathias Bourgue, 6-4, 6-1 in the final of the $64,000 in Lyon on Sunday.

To say that Auger-Aliassime joins elite company is an understatement. The list of players who won an ATP Challenger at a younger age includes Rafael Nadal, Richard Gasquet and Michael Chang. He's just ahead of Novak Djokovic and Juan Martin del Potro, who won their first ATP Challenger crowns when they were 17.

"Being on that list of those seven players is a sign that I’m on the right path," Auger-Aliassime told Tennis Channel.

The Canadian—who turns 17 in August—is the youngest player since 2005 to crack the Top 250.

He's also the youngest since 2009 to take home some ATP Challenger hardware.

“Nothing is written in advance, so I don't expect it from myself,” Auger-Aliassime told ATPWorldTour.com after his victory. “I just give everything I have and push myself to the limit. That's what I did this week. I don't give myself any limits.”

Right now, it seems like there is not much of a limit on how far the reigning junior US Open champion could go.

After getting through a tough early draw in Lyon, Auger-Aliassime never looked back, dropping just eight games in the semifinals and final. While it was not in time to make the Wimbledon qualifying cut, Auger-Aliassime earned 90 ranking points, which puts him at a career-high ranking of No. 231.

There is only one other player under the age of 18 ranked in the world’s Top 500, and that is junior No. 1 Miomir Kecmanovic (who Auger-Aliassime beat in the junior US Open final).

While Auger-Aliassime is unlikely to receive a wildcard into the Wimbledon qualifying draw, it is safe to say that if he stays on his current trajectory, he won’t have to worry about getting into the tournament next year.

“After all the work this season, starting off on the Futures tour and then starting to play more and more Challengers, I was grateful to get the opportunity to have a wild card here,” Auger-Aliassime said of his week. “I never expected to come back with the trophy, but I believed in myself and it paid off in the end.”

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