Felix Auger-Aliassime’s much-anticipated return to his home court in Montreal has been cut short, with the Canadian forced to withdraw from the National Bank Open presented by Rogers due to injury.
The world No. 4 had been hoping to make a deep run in front of his home crowd after reaching the quarter-finals at Wimbledon. Instead, fans will have to wait longer to see the Canadian star back in action at the tournament.
Auger-Aliassime revealed that the problem appeared suddenly on Monday after two weeks of trouble-free training in Montreal. He had initially hoped an additional day of rest caused by rain delays would give him enough time to recover, but his condition did not improve.
When he attempted to warm up ahead of his scheduled match, the pain became too severe for him to serve properly, making it impossible to compete.
The withdrawal means his scheduled opponent, Titouan Droguet, advances directly to the third round.
The setback comes during one of the strongest seasons of Auger-Aliassime’s career. He has compiled a 30-14 record this year and won his ninth ATP Tour title in Montpellier in February.
While his home tournament has ended before it even began, the Canadian will now turn his attention to recovering from the injury and returning to the court as soon as possible.
For Montreal fans, it is a disappointing end to what had been one of the most eagerly anticipated homecomings of the tournament.
