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Felix Auger-Aliassime's on-court struggles persisted during his campaign at the 2023 Citi Open as he suffered a shock defeat to Yosuke Watanuki in the second round. His exit from the tournament has left tennis fans on Twitter stunned.
Auger-Aliassime enjoyed a remarkable 2022 season in which he won all four of his career titles so far. He also became only the third man to take Rafael Nadal to five sets at the French Open, and achieved his career-high ranking of World No. 6.
However, he has fallen short of reaching those impressive heights this season.
Following a bye in the first round of the Citi Open, third seed Auger-Aliassime took on World No. 99 Watanuki in the second round. In a closely contested battle, Watanuki proved more clinical in the decisive moments, securing a 7-6 (10), 7-6 (3) victory to oust the Canadian from the ATP 500 event.
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With his defeat, the World No. 12 extended his win/loss record to an unenviable 13-12 over the course of the season so far. The Canadian has failed to win consecutive matches since he reached the Indian Wells Masters quarterfinals in March.
Additionally, his most recent outings at the French Open and the Wimbledon Championships both resulted in disappointing first-round exits.
Several fans raised their concerns over Felix Auger-Aliassime's sustained and startling decline in form.
"What the hell is happening with Felix???" a fan tweeted.
"FAA's season is a lot worse than I thought. What is going on?!" another fan chimed in.
Another fan joked that the 22-year-old's recent struggles were the result of him selling his soul to win back-to-back-to-back titles at the Firenze Open, European Open and the Swiss Indoors last season.
"Sold his soul to win those back to back titles last year," another fan commented.
A user questioned how the Canadian continued to hold on to his World No. 12 ranking despite his poor recent results.
"How is this guy still no 12 in the world?" a user posted.
One fan suggested that Auger-Aliassime needed to end his partnership with Rafael Nadal's uncle Toni.
"FAA has to escape from Nadal's uncle asap. What an awful year," one fan posted.
Here are a few more fan reactions to Felix Auger-Aliassime's defeat at the Citi Open:
Felix Auger-Aliassime set to compete at Canadian Open 2023 next
Following his shock defeat to Yosuke Watanuki in his opener at the 2023 Citi Open, Felix Auger-Aliassime will be hoping for a better showing at his home tournament. Auger-Aliassime is set to compete at the 2023 Canadian Open next.
At last year's edition of the ATP Masters 1000 event, he started his campaign off strong with straight sets wins over Yoshihito Nishioka and Cameron Norrie. However, the Canadian was unable to progress further in the tournament as he fell to Casper Ruud in the fourth round.
The 2023 edition of the tournament is scheduled to commence on August 7. Felix Auger-Aliassime will be joined by top seed Carlos Alcaraz, along with Daniil Medvedev, Ruud and Stefanos Tsitsipas, among others in Toronto.
