BARCELONA, Spain (AP) — Felix Auger-Aliassime ruined the homecoming of Carlos Alcaraz after fighting back to beat the world’s new top-ranked player 6-7 (3), 6-4, 6-2 to level Canada with Spain at 1-1 in the Davis Cup on Friday.
Spaniards flocked to Valencia to see 19-year-old Alcaraz in his first match since he won the U.S. Open last weekend.
Instead, they witnessed their new idol succumb to a superb Auger-Aliassime, who endured the partisan crowd and tilted the match his way after Alcaraz dug deep to claim the first-set tiebreaker.
Auger-Aliassime dominated on his serve with 16 aces and eventually broke Alcaraz late in the second set and twice in the third.
Roberto Bautista gave Spain the first point after he fought back to beat Vasek Pospisil 3-6, 6-3, 6-3. The group tie will be decided in doubles.
Before the tie, Alcaraz was busy signing autographs and posing for photos after practice. He received the biggest applause when the Spain team was presented and he was introduced as the “new world No. 1.”
Bautista helped Spain beat Serbia 3-0 on Wednesday while Alcaraz was resting after jetting home from New York where he won his first Grand Slam on Sunday after a grueling run that included three consecutive five-set victories.
After Spanish fans had to stay up practically all night to watch his matches at the U.S. Open due to the time difference, this was the first chance many of his supporters had to watch him play at home since May when he won the Madrid Open. Alcaraz beat Nadal, Novak Djokovic and Alexander Zverev in the capital in what many saw as Nadal passing the torch to his Spanish successor.
Red and yellow flags were draped over railings at the pavilion, including one with the name of Alcaraz’s home region, Murcia, painted in big black letters. Valencia, on the Mediterranean coast, is about 2 1/2 hours north of Alcaraz’s hometown of El Palmar, population 24,000.
Another Spanish flag bore the message in Spanish, “Carlitos, will you give me your shirt?”
Alcaraz had only one previous meeting with Auger-Aliassime, at the 2021 U.S. Open quarterfinals when the Spaniard had to retire due to injury.
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