Auger-Aliassime in First Roland Garros Quarter-Final

A historic moment for Canadian tennis was experienced on Court Philippe-Chatrier on Monday afternoon. World No. 6 and 4th seed Felix Auger-Aliassime defeated Chilean left-hander Alejandro Tabilo 6-3, 7-5, 6-1 to reach his career's first Roland Garros quarter-final. During the 2-hour 6-minute match, the 25-year-old Canadian finally opened the door he had been waiting for four years — he had been eliminated in the 4th round each time in seven previous RG appearances, losing to Rafael Nadal in his most brilliant 2022 season and to Carlos Alcaraz in 2024. This time the obstacle was Tabilo and the obstacle was lifted.

The flow of the match tells the story of a tactical dominance. Auger-Aliassime took the first set 6-3; in the first set the Canadian's serve power and forehand pressure closed the set quickly. The second set was full of drama. Tabilo stood up to Auger-Aliassime throughout the set, breaks followed each other; when the scoreboard came to 5-5, the Chilean's dreams came alive. But after a momentum spark, Auger-Aliassime closed with a 7-5 final by taking two consecutive games. This set was filled with frustration minutes for Tabilo — according to Outlook India's live broadcast, the Chilean player tightened his racket with a visible anger outburst on the court after a few errors. The third set was one-sided: Tabilo fell tired, Auger-Aliassime closed the match with a bagel-like score of 6-1. In Set 3, the Chilean player got only one game.

Auger-Aliassime's path to this Roland Garros has been with difficulty since the first round. In R1, against German Daniel Altmaier, he had a difficult 4-hour 17-minute fifth-set tiebreak battle with 4-6, 6-4, 4-6, 6-1, 7-6[10-7]; the tournament's first fifth-set tiebreak turned in Auger-Aliassime's favour at the last moment. In R2, he passed Argentine Roman Burruchaga 4-6, 6-0, 7-5, 6-1; he lost the first set again but recovered. In R3, against Brandon Nakashima with 5-7, 6-1, 7-6(4), 7-6(1) in a 3-hour 48-minute battle, he performed with 15 aces and zero double faults. That is, he had lost the first set in three matches up to the 4th round — which shows that the Canadian was always playing in "comeback" mode in this tournament. As he came to Monday, he took the first set, which was also a sign of a mental transformation.

Looking from the Tabilo side, the story is not tragic either. The 28-year-old left-handed Chilean (he turns 29 the day after the June 1 match, so his real birthday is the next day) experienced the first Grand Slam fourth round of his career. In R1, he passed Kamil Majchrzak 6-1, 6-3, 6-4 in straight sets; in R2, he passed Vacherot W/O without playing — that is, he was one of the physically freshest players. In R3, he beat home young Moise Kouame 4-6, 6-3, 6-4, 7-6(9) — at the end of a difficult 3-hour 40-minute match. This meant that he reached the second week of a Grand Slam for the first time; his deepest result before was the 2024 Wimbledon 3rd round. His main-draw victories at Roland Garros reached 4 (4-2). On Monday, the QF door opening for him for Berrettini was closed instead by Auger-Aliassime's tactical strength.

Tabilo's 2026 ATP season is actually striking. He became a 2026 Rio Open finalist; he lost the final match to Argentine Tomas Martin Etcheverry 3-6, 7-6, 6-4. He had become famous for beating Novak Djokovic twice on clay in 2024 Italian Open round 3 and 2025 Monte Carlo round 2 (respectively 6-2, 6-3 and 6-3, ?). He has an Aix-en-Provence Challenger championship and 6 Challenger clay titles in total. He hasn't won a title on clay in the ATP tour yet — this is the next big goal for his career. A biographical note: Tabilo was born in Toronto and represented Canada until 2017, then moved to Chile. His family is from Chile, he himself has been living in Chile since 2015. So this match was actually a reckoning with a player from his Canadian birthplace.

The story from the Auger-Aliassime side is becoming brighter and brighter. The 25-year-old Canadian is the male player with the most ATP titles (9) in the Open Era — he surpassed Milos Raonic's record with his 2026 Open Occitanie victory (6-3, 7-6(4) against Mannarino). He passed the 2026 season with 22 wins and 10 losses, a 68.7% rate. His record on clay is 7-4 (he reached the quarter-final at Monte-Carlo). He had won a bronze medal in mixed doubles with Gabriela Dabrowski at the 2024 Paris Olympics. The 2025 season was a disappointment: he was eliminated in the first round at RG. His performance this season has surpassed his previous years; Monday's Tabilo victory has allowed him to lift an exceptional ceiling at Roland Garros.

Auger-Aliassime's opponent in the quarter-final will be Matteo Berrettini. While the Italian side came to the match with a 2-hour 32-minute Cerundolo victory, the Canadian comes from a shorter match of 2 hours 6 minutes — Auger-Aliassime is physically fresher. The H2H of the two players is historically 1-1. Auger-Aliassime's steady race against Berrettini's comeback story creates a contrast. This match, which reminds Berrettini's 2021 RG QF, can be evaluated as a moment that can open the door to Auger-Aliassime's first RG semi-final of his career. Looking at the current picture, Sinner has been eliminated already, Alcaraz is in the bottom half; for Auger-Aliassime, the Roland Garros semi-final — even the final — is a realistic target.

To summarise in a paragraph: Felix Auger-Aliassime lifted an obstacle of his career on Court Philippe-Chatrier on Monday afternoon. The 25-year-old Canadian saw his first quarter-final after seven RG attempts. This is not just a door, but also a transformative moment: as one of the most solid players of the 2026 season, Auger-Aliassime is now moving towards a Grand Slam semi-final. The quarter-final he will play with Matteo Berrettini on Wednesday or Thursday will be his biggest match in the season-dimension. Tabilo's path is not over either: the Chilean player will return with new stories on grass/hard court at Wimbledon and after.

Image: ledevoir.com