Still under the powerful influence of

Roger Federer

's goodbye ,

Carlos Alcaraz

will play this Friday against

Felix Auger-Aliassime

, in Valencia, his first match as world number 1.

We have been left forever without a duel between the new tenant of the ATP penthouse and the one who established a longer period with that rank.

Now it's time to enjoy a new time, which the Spaniard inaugurates in the second match of the Davis Cup tie against Canada, once he has recovered from the enormous waste of energy that he carried out to win his first big in New York.

Deserving, even sitting on the bench, of all the appreciation and attention of the fans who almost filled the Fuente de San Luis Pavilion on the first day of the group stage of the Davis Cup, in which Spain won 3-0 to Croatia, Alcaraz will take the field after the duel between

Roberto Bautista

and

Vasek Pospisil

, Canadian number two in the absence of

Denis Shapovalov

.

the new york date

Alcaraz's rival is, curiously, the only one who has defeated him in his two appearances at the US Open.

The Murcian had to retire in the quarterfinals of the last edition due to a right adductor injury when he lost 6-1 and 3-1.

He had won Stefanos Tsitsipas

in the third round

and came like a cyclone.

Auger Aliassime

, 20, is one of the players with the greatest projection on the circuit, but he has not fully endorsed expectations and shows a particular weakness in the Davis Cup.

On Tuesday he lost to Korean

Soonwoo Kwon

in the fourth match of the five singles he has played in this competition.

He only beat

Norbert Gombos

to decide the qualification match against Slovakia, in 2019.

Trained by

Frederic Fontang

and

Toni Nadal

, he lifted his first title in Rotterdam at the beginning of the year, after losing nine finals.

In addition to the semifinals of the US Open in 2021, the player from Montreal, number 13 in the world, is taking steps in the right direction, but not at the speed that he could have expected.

In the last Roland Garros he took Nadal to five sets in the round of 16, with an exemplary performance.

Representing his country and playing at home are still his main handicaps.

He never got past the quarterfinals in his five appearances at the Canadian Masters 1000, stopping twice in his debut match.

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