A star among stars
The US Open mixed doubles may have drawn some of the biggest names in tennis, but Canada’s Felix Auger-Aliassime is confident he won’t have problems grabbing his share of the spotlight.
After all, he will be partnered with who tennis analysts have been calling the most popular figure in the sport right now.
“[We have the] same agency, and then people in our teams kinda talked and made [the partnership happen,” the men’s world No. 4 told television hosts when asked how he ended up getting paired with Filipino star Alex Eala.
Auger-Aliassime and Eala were given a wild-card berth in the mixed doubles competition of the event at the Flushing Meadows in Queens, New York, and they will compete against some of the biggest names of the sport today.
Leading the field is the pair of women’s world No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka and 24-time Grand Slam winner Novak Djokovic.
Other pairings include world No. 2 Elena Rybakina and world No. 9 Taylor Fritz, world No. 3 Alexander Zverev and Taylor Townsend, world No. 5 Iga Swiatek and Casper Ruud, four-time Grand Slam winner Naomi Osaka and Kei Nishikori, and world No. 9 Elina Svitolina and French husband Gael Monfils.
‘Great opportunity’
The 26-year-old Auger-Aliassime won’t have to worry about getting some crowd support even against more popular players. Apart from his own stature as one of the top guns on the men’s tour, he will also have Eala by his side.
And, for Auger-Aliassime, that counts a lot.
“It’s a great opportunity to kind of feel what it’s like to have that Eala effect and her fanbase behind me,” the classy Canadian said.
Big ticket
“It’s kinda funny because she’s younger than me, but I feel like she has the fan base and she’s carrying the crowd,” he added. “So it’s going to be interesting.”
Eala has been the WTA’s “Big Ticket” the last two years and her popularity has soared even more over the last month or so with a string of strong performances where she saw action in Wimbledon’s center court, the most hallowed ground in tennis, and won her first WTA tour event.
The 21-year-old Eala has managed her sudden burst of popularity with aplomb, mixing spectacular performances on the court with the responsibility of putting the Philippines on the world stage.
“There are moments where it’s heavy. There are moments where it’s fun,” Eala said when asked of how she deals with her fame and her packed tour schedule.
“But at the end of the day, I, I am also aware that it’s a crazy experience, you know, so I’m just trying to take it all in.”
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