Felix Auger-Aliassime left the US Open with pride and perspective after a 6-1, 3-6, 6-3, 6-4 semi-final defeat to defending champion Jannik Sinner on Friday, saying only time will tell if he can return to the sport’s summit after an inspired fortnight in New York.
The 25th seed swatted aside world number three Alexander Zverev, 15th seed Andrey Rublev and eighth seed Alex de Minaur en route to his first Grand Slam semi-final since 2021.
After a gutsy performance that pushed Sinner to four sets, the Italian world number one ultimately proved too strong.
"I just want to take a moment to soak in the tournament and everything that was good," Auger-Aliassime told reporters.
"You obviously build your future with what's good in you, and then you try to improve a little bit, step by step. So I'm just trying to take that all in.
"We were fighting out there. We had some good points. I was going toe to toe at times, some sets dominating. Of course, I feel competitive, but the future will tell how close I am" to Sinner's level.
Despite converting only one of his 10 break points during the match, Auger-Aliassime said he has "no regrets" about aggressive playing style.
"I can explain all of (the missed break points) to you, but it's over," he said.
"I don't have regrets. I played my way. I played my game. You know, you kind of live and die with your choices."
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