Tsitsipas congratulated Auger-Aliassime after their match (Picture: Getty Images)

Stefanos Tsitsipas was full of praise for 18-year-old Canadian Felix Auger-Aliassime after he was dumped out of Queen’s.

The Greek has never managed to beat the world No. 21, who is on the verge of climbing into the top-20 of the ATP rankings for the first time this week.

Incredibly, this is just his second tournament on grass, having reached the final of the first in Stuttgart last week, and he has beaten seasoned pros Grigor Dimitrov, Nick Kyrgios and Tsitsipas in the space of two days at the Fever-Tree Championships.

Despite having never completed a Grand Slam match, a title in west London could see him become a top-16 seed at the All England Club next month and on this form he will take some stopping in SW19.




Tsitsipas, who is also tipped to be a serious threat at Wimbledon, did not hold back in his gushing assessment of the teenager’s performance, naming him as the ‘most difficult’ opponent he’s faced, while backing him to record wins over Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic on his way to becoming a top-five player.

‘He’s the most difficult opponent I’ve ever faced, and I think it’s gonna take a couple of tries to beat him,’ Tsitsipas, who has recorded wins over all members of the ‘Big Three’, said after the 7-5 6-2 loss.

Tsitsipas is a big fan of the Canadian (Picture: AFP/Getty Images)

‘It is very difficult, because he has one of the best returns on the tour. He has a really powerful, accurate serve, which is tough to read.

‘He’s really quick and fast, which is rare to find all of that combinations together, combined. Big forehand, big backhand. He can create a lot of opportunities from his backhand, but also, at the same time, he can be very aggressive from the forehand side.

‘There’s not much to come up with when you play against him. He’s pretty much solid from everywhere.

Auger-Aliassime was in great form (Picture: Getty Images)

‘He’s beaten me every single time we have faced each other: juniors and pro, he’s beaten me Indian Wells, he’s beating me here, he’s beaten me a couple of times in juniors. I only beat him in doubles. I don’t even count that one, because doubles is doubles.

‘He has the whole package to play big, to beat – I’m sure if he ever gets the difficult chance to play Nadal, Djokovic, or Federer, he’s going to beat them, for sure. I will not be surprised if he gets wins over those guys.

‘We will definitely see him in the top-five. Maybe not this year but next year or the year after. I would expect something like this.’