Lynne Sladky/Associated Press
MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. — At 18, Felix Auger-Aliassime is already quite a tennis package: explosive from the baseline, comfortable at the net and smooth on the move as well as in the interview room, where he can reflect in French or English.
On Friday, in the biggest match of his career, the Canadian qualifier acted his age only when it came time to close out a set.
His semifinal opponent at the Miami Open was the defending champion John Isner, 15 years his senior and long one of the game’s supreme servers. But it was Auger-Aliassime’s own serve that proved the insurmountable obstacle to a breakthrough.