Tsitsipas says teenager Auger-Aliassime will beat the likes of Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic, or Roger Federer if given the chance
Friday 21 June 2019 17:42, UK
Stefanos Tsitsipas has handed Felix Auger-Aliassime a glowing tribute after losing to the Canadian teenager in the quarter-finals at Queen's Club on Friday.
The 18-year-old was cool, calm and collected throughout the contest on a sunlit centre court as he claimed a consummate 7-5 6-2 victory.
Auger-Aliassime, who has bounded up the rankings to 21, recorded his second consecutive win over the Greek 20-year-old having already beaten him in convincing fashion at Indian Wells earlier this year.
There's not much to come up with when you play against him. He's pretty much solid from everywhere
"He's the most difficult opponent I've ever faced," said Tsitsipas during his post-match press conference. "He has one of the best returns on the tour. He has a really powerful, accurate serve, which is tough to read. He's really quick and fast, which is rare to find all of that combinations together, combined. Big forehand, big backhand. He can create a lot of opportunities from his backhand, but also, at the same time, he can be very aggressive from the forehand side.
"There's not much to come up with when you play against him. He's pretty much solid from everywhere."
Tsitsipas admitted Auger-Aliassime is a "better" player than he is, even though the Madrid Open finalist came into the tournament as the top seed.
"It's upsetting obviously that he's better than me. I have to accept that he's better than me. I might never beat him, but if I think that way, just need to wait, years maybe, for that chance to come," he said.
"If not, then not. If yes, then fantastic. I'll donate £10,000 for that win to a charity."
Tsitsipas, who also confirmed that he will take part at the Boodles event in Stoke Park next week as preparation for Wimbledon, added: "He has the whole package to play big. I'm sure if he ever gets the chance to play [Rafael] Nadal, [Novak] Djokovic, or [Roger] Federer, he's going to beat them, for sure. I will not be surprised if he gets wins over those guys.
"We will definitely see him in the top five. Maybe not this year but next year or the year after."
