Felix Auger-Aliassime’s Australian Open debut ended with a painful heartbreak.
According to Independent, Auger-Aliassime was unable to explain why he suffered with cramping as the seventh seed was forced to retire from his first-round match against Nuno Borges at the Australian Open.
The Canadian, who returned to the world’s top-10 after a comeback year and reaching the US Open semi-finals last season, retired while trailing 3-6 6-4 6-4 to Portugal's Nuno Borges.
The 25-year-old said, “I want to be on the court competing with my opponent. I don't want to be just standing there, you know, like a punching bag. So there's no point.”
Auger-Aliassime said he started to cramp at the start of the third set but admitted he couldn’t remember struggling physically so early into his first match at a tournament.
“I don't have all the answers now. I'm trying to be very professional at everything I do, prepare well. I love this sport, and I love to play. So I try to do everything I can in my control to get ready. It hurts even more, because you know, if I wasn't really ready or I wasn't doing everything, then you have to be honest with yourself,” he added.
Auger-Aliassime is so far the highest seed to fall at the Australian Open while the Portuguese Borges will play Australia’s Jordan Thompson in the second round.
