"He completely killed me" - Jannik Sinner on Madrid Open clash against Felix Auger-Aliassime 2 years ago ahead of rematch in 2024 QF

Jannik Sinner recently spoke about the Madrid Open match he played against Felix Auger-Aliassime two years ago, ahead of their rematch in the quarterfinals of this year's Madrid Open.

Seeded first in the ATP Masters 1000 Madrid tournament, Sinner made it to the quarterfinals at the Spanish capital for the first time after he defeated Russian Karen Khachanov 5-7, 6-3, 6-3 in the fourth round in two hours and 10 minutes.

The World No. 2 had previously defeated his compatriot Lorenzo Sonego in the opening match, followed by a victory over Pavel Kotov in the third round.

With this win, Jannik Sinner became the only player to reach the quarterfinals in the first four Masters 1000 events of 2024 (the Indian Wells Masters, Miami Open, Monte-Carlo Masters, and the Madrid Open). The last player to accomplish this feat was Canada's Milos Raonic who did it in 2016.

Speaking to Prakash Amritraj on Tennis Channel after his win over Karen Khachanov, Jannik Sinner discussed his upcoming quarterfinal clash against Felix Auger-Aliassime.

Sinner recalled their previous encounter which they had in the fourth round of the 2022 Madrid Open, where Auger-Aliassime defeated him in straight sets, 6-1, 6-2. The World No.2 acknowledged the Canadian's strong performance in that match, stating that Auger-Aliassime had "killed" him in that match and that he did not give him any opportunity to recover and turn the match in his favor.

"Well for sure, I played against Felix two years ago and then he completely killed me. I remember we played on court three and I had no chance. So he loves the conditions here. He is a huge server. So in any case it's going to be a tough match. Whoever I have to play against, I try to prepare it in the best possible way," Sinner said (at 3:43).

Jannik Sinner & Felix Auger-Aliassime's head-to-head record ahead of their Madrid Open QF clash

Jannik Sinner at the 2024 Mutua Madrid Open

Jannik Sinner and Felix Auger-Aliassime have faced each other twice on the ATP tour, with the latter winning both match-ups. As a result, the head-to-head record currently stands at 2-0 in favor of the Canadian.

Their first meeting took place in the fourth round of the 2022 Madrid Open, where Auger-Aliassime defeated Sinner in a dominant fashion with a score of 6-1, 6-2 to advance to the quarterfinals in the tournament.

The two players clashed again later that year in the third round of the Western & Southern Open. Despite Sinner taking the first set 6-2, Auger-Aliassime fought back to win the match with a score of 2-6, 7-6(1), 6-1.

This year, Jannik Sinner has already claimed three titles - the Australian Open, the ABN AMRO Open, and the Miami Open. Meanwhile, Felix Auger-Aliassime has yet to secure a title this year.