Felix Auger-Aliassime calls for rule change as he lashes out at Alejandro Davidovich Fokina at Wimbledon

Kevin Palmer 06 Jul 2026 12:45 AM

Felix Auger-Aliassime and Alejandro Davidovich Fokina in heated exchange

Felix Auger-Aliassime was involved in a heated exchange with Alejandro Davidovich Fokina after he beat the Spaniard to reach the quarter-finals at Wimbledon, with the Canadian explaining why he was not amused by the behaviour of his opponent.

Auger-Aliassime beat Davidovich Fokina’s 6-7(4), 7-6(6), 6-3 6-7(2), 6-1 in four hours and 26 minutes, with the big talking point coming as the players exchanged some insults at the net after the match concluded.

While Auger-Aliassime is considered to be one of the more placid players on the ATP Tour, he was rated by Davidovich Fokina’s move to take a medical time out that appeared to come at an unfortunate moment.

There is an etiquette rule in tennis that you do not disrupt your opponent’s service game and should wait until the change of ends to call a medical time-out.

Davidovich Fokina’s took his medical break when he was standing at break point in the fourth set and when play resumed, Auger-Aliassime double-faulted.

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Speaking to the media after the match, Auger-Aliassime gave his verdict on the incident and it was clear that he was not impressed.

“The interactions between him and I, I don’t want to get into that,” began Auger-Aliassime.

“If he wants to come in here and talk about it, he can. But he knows my opinion. That’s one of these things that I have differences with people in my life on tour. They know what I think. That’s the most important.

“Now what I can say, though, is that I think the rule has to change. I think that obviously as long as the rule is like that, a player will use it to their advantage.

“I think that it’s very simple: if you’re hurt bad, or whatever you’re hurt, while the game’s going on of your opponent, in the middle of the game, the opponent is serving, the shot clock is on, basically when you’re hurt bad, you’re forfeiting every point until you can call the physio. If the physio helps you recover, you play your service game.

“If you’re hurt bad, then you retire, obviously. But to stop in the middle of an opponent’s service game and to be able to call the physio, I think that’s a disgrace of a rule. I don’t see any other sport where you can do that. I mark my words. It’s a disgrace of a rule. That’s it.”

Auger-Aliassime also looked ahead to his quarter-final with Novak Djokovic, as he paid tribute to his legendary opponent.

“Look, it’s simple, I need to play my best,” he added. “There’s no going through if I don’t play my best. The game plan is quite simple. Yeah, I hope that I can show that I’ve improved as a player.

“It’s a big opportunity. It’s a big honour for me to play this match. Playing here is, yeah, it’s one of those matches that you want to have and that you train for and prepare for.

“I can only say good things about Novak because, again, now that I’m a tennis player – I think as a kid I didn’t appreciate it as much – but now that I’m a player, the load of work he’s done over the years, I mean, I’m not even near any of that.

“Just to think about it, it’s crazy. You get dizzy just to think about it. Huge respect to him. I have to say, he’s been very generous with his time. I’ve reached out to him at times to ask him questions, pick his brain.

“I love to listen and to learn from older players, generations. He’s been very generous with his time, as well.”