Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner have set themselves apart in recent years. They’ve now split the last nine Grand Slam titles, and sit thousands of points clear of their rivals as the world Nos. 1 and 2 in the rankings, and they’ve proven they’re the guys to beat – especially at the biggest tournaments.

There has been plenty of discussion about who can ruin their stranglehold on men’s tennis and become the ‘third guy’, much like Novak Djokovic initially was for Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal. Aged 38, Djokovic still looks like Alcaraz and Sinner’s best challenger at the Grand Slam tournaments. Other, younger stars like Lorenzo Musetti, Ben Shelton and Jack Draper have also emerged as possible threats.

But Felix Auger-Aliassime believes he is right up there with “freak” Alcaraz and Sinner, who are “paving the way” for the rest of the field. The Canadian is still only 25 years old, but he’s been around for a long time, qualifying for his first Challenger draw aged just 14.

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Auger-Aliassime had himself been tipped as one of tennis’ brightest prospects, before Alcaraz and Sinner came along. After a few years of mixed results, he’s reemerged as one of the most consistent players on the tour.

The 25-year-old has reached at least the quarter-finals in 10 of the last 11 tournaments he has played, outside of team competition. Auger-Aliassime already has nine titles to his name, with two of those coming in the last four months, and he reached a career-high ranking of No. 5 at the end of last season.

Now sitting at No. 8 in the world, Auger-Aliassime had been inspired by the likes of Djokovic and Federer growing up. And with Alcaraz and Sinner now setting the standard on the ATP Tour, he feels he’s right there behind them.

“When I came on tour, obviously Novak was dominating. He had been dominating the Grand Slams and everything on tour for the last 10 years or so. And then obviously Roger growing up was a big inspiration [for me], but Roger is tough to replicate, he’s so unique, the way he plays is just, yeah, we all dream of playing like him, but it’s almost impossible,” Auger-Aliassime said after reaching the Dubai semi-finals on Thursday.

“But Novak, to see his progression as a player and to have studied him from a kid on, it’s unbelievable. So that’s kind of the standard that I think everyone, when I came on tour, he was the guy, he was the standard. Now we have the freak of Carlos Alcaraz, and obviously, Jannik Sinner is a great player. So these guys are also obviously paving the way, but I’m right there, and I try to also put up some great standards.”

Auger-Aliassime will face Daniil Medvedev as he bids to reach his third consecutive final after winning in Montpellier and finishing runner-up in Rotterdam earlier this month. He lost his first seven matches against Medvedev, but has won the last two, one coming via retirement.

Previewing the clash, the world No. 8 said: “We have very different game styles. I’m going to try to come forward, he will try and make me miss. We’ll see who gets the better of the game plan. He’s had the better of me… It took me seven or eight times before beating him.”

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