That’s the verdict of tennis expert and former ATP pro Greg Rusedski.
Auger Aliassime is the youngest player within the top 100 of the men’s rankings and has shot to No 57 of late. He stands to jump up even further than that having progressed to the semi finals of the Miami Open, despite starting the tournament in qualifying.
The 18-year-old claimed his latest victim by downing another up-and-coming player in Borna Coric, who he defeated 7-6, 6-2 to set up a semi-final clash against defending Miami champion John Isner.
And Rusedski has even paid Auger Aliassime the honour of claiming his rise bears resemblance to that of Nadal, who the ex-world No 4 says is the only player to have been so impressive at such a young age.
Rusedski said on Amazon Prime’s Miami Open coverage: “He is the real deal. You look at him, he’s come through qualis this week – which is incredible in itself. You look at the wins, [Marton] Fucsovics, [Hubert] Hurkacz, then [Nikoloz] Basilashvili.
“You look at the one-two punch with the serve and the forehand, the serve is rapid, 120mph, 125mph-plus already at his age – it’s only going to get stronger. You can see the rotation and the spin he creates.
“The names he’s beaten are guys who are pretty solid mentally and physically. To do that at 18 years of age, the last guy I saw doing that at 18 years of age was Rafael Nadal.
“The comparison, we were talking about the Challenger circuit, he was winning Challengers at 15 and the only two guys to do that were Rafa and Juan Martin del Potro.
“He is in a good class with guys who have gone on to have great careers and win major championships.
“He just keeps on impressing me match after match. He has a great aura about him, a presence. He’s got that superstar appeal.”
Fellow Amazon tennis expert Daniela Hantuchova even thinks the up-and-coming teenager has a faultless game already.
She added: “It’s incredible. When you think about it, two months ago he’s playing Challengers and now he’s able to play his seventh match, being so solid.
“And coming off Indian Wells where he played incredible tennis as well. I completely agree with Greg, this guy has got it all.
“Especially seeing him in the interviews, how he behaves himself off the court, he’s such a humble guy and so mature for his age. He’s going to be lifting a lot of Grand Slam trophies.
“What impresses me most is his maturity and the head he’s got on his shoulders. If you don’t have the right attitude, it’s something we’ve seen and questioned with Nick Kyrgios’ game or with Alexander Zverev, how focused he is at the moment.
“With Felix, I feel like he’s really all there and I don’t think there’s not one hole. I can’t see one weakness in his game or his mental attitude. He’s going to be, in no time, in the top 10.”