Auger-Aliassime not ready to assume mantle of Big Three

Canadian tennis star Felix Auger-Aliassime began the season with a superb performance at the Australian Open, but the 21-year old wants people to temper their expectations when comparing him to members of the Big Three.

Not only did Auger-Aliassime reach the quarterfinals in Melbourne, but he also won his maiden title in Rotterdam a few weeks later. The Canadian would go on to finish runner-up in Marseille a week later, cementing his place as one of the in-form stars during that period.

However, despite his stellar performances, the World No.9 asked fans to temper their expectations when asked if he was ready to take over the legacies of Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic.

"I’m only 21 years old, and no, I’m not ready to assume the position of Nadal or Djokovic yet, clearly," admitted Auger-Aliassime. "I hope in the future that I will be able to become a player who has an important place on the tour.”

Furthermore, the Rotterdam champion spoke on the role of fans in today's game, and seemed pleased at how younger stars were rising to the occasion as the Big Three wind down their careers.

"What I think is that the fans, the public likes tennis. Today they were cheering for Lorenzo (Musetti). It’s almost full here, so they will still come,” added the Canadian.

"It’s special when the older players are in the end of their career, but new players are coming up. We won’t have maybe only three players dominating all the others. We will have more players at the top.”

Auger-Aliassime fell to Lorenzo Musetti in the second round of the Monte-Carlo Masters but intends to resume his clay-court season at the Barcelona Open, which kicks off on April 18th.