3 ways in which Felix Auger-Aliassime's playing style resembles that of Nick Kyrgios
On Monday, we saw how Felix Auger-Aliassime's put up a great fighting display against Marton Fucsovics in the first round of the Vienna Open. He gave a great account of himself even though the result didn't go his way. He ensured that his potential as a tennis player was seen by those who followed the match. Being one of them, I noticed something that struck me.
It was Felix's technique. It felt very familiar, like I had seen something similar before. Then I realized that the reason he was so familiar was his resemblance to Nick Krygios, the lanky Australian. The Canadian looks quite similar to him, although not as muscular. Not only in build, he resembles Kyrgios in some important components of his game as well.
Today it is exactly what we're going to look at, with an in-depth analysis of all of them. Each one of the parts were in action in the Round of 32 of the Erste Bank Vienna Open.
1. Go Big or Go Home
We have seen Nick Kyrgios just smashing balls all around the court. It's what that has got him most of his winners other than in service. We have also seen him overshoot the mark quite often. The number of unforced errors he hits is sometimes shocking, considering his calibre as a player.
Felix Auger-Aliassime seems to be a player of a similar mould. The first set of Monday's match saw him play some great, powerful shots to dominate the proceedings.
Kyrgios at his best does the same quite regularly. But, like there is always a yang to a yin, his evil side is the number of unforced errors. It was on full display in the second set, where he made 14 of them, 2 coming via double faults. The 'Go Big or Go Home' quality of Felix Auger-Aliassime is nearly identical to that of Nick Kyrgios.