Félix Auger-Aliassime barely left his suitcases in his hotel room in Paris when he took nearly ten minutes to chat on Radio-Canada Sports.
Smiling, relaxed in his gray Adidas sweater and ready to prepare the stage for the second grand slam of the season.
In 3 years, he had never arrived in Paris so prepared and confident. In six clay-court tournaments this season, he has reached the quarter-finals four times, in his last four stops.
If he can recognize Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic, Carlos Alcaraz and Stefanos Tsitsipas as a quartet of favorite wins at the end of two weeks, he will humbly place himself in the first group of the hunt.
I want to count myself among the players who can give themselves a chance to win, included [Alexander] Zverev, and other top 10 players who play well, the 21 -year -old said. I hope to see this in my results, as I have shown in other grand slams and in the last two tournaments I have played on clay.
Now that he has won his first ATP title this winter in Rotterdam, is he ready to win a major tournament?
Yes, he said, before clarifying his thinking. You don’t know it until you win it, but this year, for example, my quarter-final in Melbourne against Medvedev, I feel like I could win. Then, Tsitsipas hopefully, I lost after the final was against.
Compared to the opponents I face and hang out with, I feel like my tennis level doesn’t need to be even stronger to win a grand slam. Then, the difficulty will be constant in seven games, to be well physically and mentally defeat high-quality opponents. I don’t think I’m physically, mentally or tennis-limited to win a grand slam.
He showed it no later than Friday in Rome. In front of the electric Roman audience that night, he warmed up Novak Djokovic for two sets, defeated 7-5, 7-6, in a duel that lasted 2 h 9 min.
If Auger-Aliassime admitted that he enjoyed facing Djokovic for the first time in the competition, we felt a definite regret in his voice.
I wish I could have spent more time on the court and I was hoping to find a way to find myself in the third set, that’s why I believed in it until the end. Matches like this, you don’t see the passage of time. The fight seems to have lasted about 20 minutes. I was hoping to play more amazing shots and maybe win more battles.
One thing is certain, he will not lack motivation at Roland-Garros. Although he reached the junior final in 2016, Auger-Aliassime never won a single main draw match.
He was forfeited in 2019 due to injury, then lost in the first round against Japanese Yoshihito Nishioka in 2020 and against Italian Andreas Seppi in 2021. This finding, with still a small sample, does not seem to be him shaky even a little. .
It didn’t bother me because it also happened to players who were stronger than me, the big right-hander philosopher. I know it will pass too and I look forward to this year. I also had similar moments in Australia when I lost in qualifying and in the first round, and I finally made an eighth and a quarter over the next two years. Same thing with the US Open. This is the truth. And it’s not alarming or something that bothers me.
Ready to challenge young Carlos Alcaraz
Since he came to the ATP, Félix Auger-Aliassime has very rarely caught up in the world rankings by people younger than him. In fact, only two players made it. Italian Jannik Sinner, briefly in 2021 and 2022, and Carlos Alcaraz, 19, were installed on the 6th floor in the world in a matter of weeks.
Auger-Aliassime and Alcaraz have already played in their first act, winning after Quebecer’s abandonment in the quarterfinals of the United States Open in September.
If monster meekness has fully evolved since then, Auger-Aliassime is ready for the challenge.
I want to play him again this year because that’s where he’s consistent and stable, Auger-Aliassime said. He will be very, very strong in the coming years and I would love to compete with him to win the biggest tournaments. I think I deserve my place on his level with the others.
The 9th player in the world believes the young Spaniard has particularly improved his service and physical ability in recent months. Alcaraz worked hard in the off-season to get to the top of 2022. The rewards are mounting.
The teenager already has two Masters 1000 titles and five in total.
He has many good qualities, Auger-Aliassime describes. He does everything well and doesn’t show too much weakness. Carlos always has a great forehand, in the drop shot variety he is great. It’s not easy for a player not to know if he or she has hit the forehand hard to make a win or bunt. It was so powerful to him.
Alcaraz and Auger-Aliassime will not technically face off before the round of 16 due to their world ranking.
Quebecer therefore has a better chance of facing a French player in the first rounds. For the first time since 1997, no Frenchman was seeded. But Gaël Monfils would have been, if not for his withdrawal due to injury.
And some musketeers who rained and shone at Roland-Garros were there for the last time, this is the case of Jo-Wilfried Tsonga and Gilles Simon. Athletes who have always been warmly supported by the Paris public.
I’ve always wanted to play in a good environment, but I don’t want to deal with a Frenchman too quickly, Auger-Aliassime studies. If that happens, I will enjoy, but above all to win and move on to the next round above all.
I also hope, if I advance in the contest, to have public support by being the French -speaking representative at the table among the top seeds, he added. Maybe I can count on public support. A grand slam is always special and we always experience privileged moments. There is extra motivation to try to win. I hope to live good moments in the next 15 days.
He hopes to earn from it on the pitch, but he’s taking full advantage of his season on clay. The life of a tennis player can be difficult, but the wounds pass better when you can visit the beautiful restaurants and tourist sites of major European capitals between matches.
Paris seems to have great restaurants.
Source: Radio-Canada
