Radio-Canada Sports spoke with Frédéric Fontang, coach of Félix Auger-Aliassime, on the eve of his meeting with Rafael Nadal in the round of 16 of the French Open.
Q. What was your assessment of the first week of Félix’s tournament?
R. Félix improved with every game. In his first Philippe-Chatrier court match, there is a possibility that Félix has yet to score. And this is the case, especially with an opponent who surprised us with his level of play and played well at speed. The nice thing is that Félix adjusted some tactical points and as the game progressed, he improved the offensive density of his game as well as stability.
Q. What analysis have you been doing on his shots since the beginning of two weeks?
A. It’s one of his main strengths, his serving and his forehand. With these two blows, he will get hurt a lot when he is aggressive. With clay, he is able to have a certain weight of the ball while being aggressive and opening up the field. This opens up opportunities to move forward.
Q. Everyone has seen the match against Nadal since the tournament started. Was it difficult to keep Felix focused on day-to-day activities?
A. Félix watches it every game. Of course we saw the painting. But from the fourth round, we knew the chances were great to encounter a player from the top 8. We saw that it was Nadal. It’s very positive. We can savor the victory now and then prepare for the game on Sunday.
Q. How will you prepare for a clash against Rafa?
A. Very excited. Félix played against Nadal in Madrid in central in 2019. It’s good that he had this kind of experience, like facing Djokovic in Roma two weeks ago. It’s great to play against these top players. Nadal is interesting because in any case, he is the most successful player at Roland-Garros. In any case, Felix will emerge victorious from a fight like this. Either he’ll win and that’s nice, or he’ll lose and he’ll learn a lot.
Q. Will his very close fight with Novak Djokovic in Rome help him face Nadal? Will that give him confidence?
A. Absolutely. It came at the right time he played against world No. 1 in Rome, in two strict and hung sets. It dropped to a few points at the end of the round with experience. And inevitably, it will be useful to Felix for Sunday.
Q. We talk a lot about Toni Nadal. Was he really in neutral territory on Sunday?
A. Yes, we knew that at the beginning of working with Toni Nadal as a consultant with us. We knew that if one day this situation came, Toni would not be in the box for the fight. Things are clear, there is no tactical exchange on the contrary. You need to respect your nephew.
Q. What do you want to see from Felix on Sunday?
A. I want him to approach this fight as a fourth round grand slam tournament. It’s never easy, but to play ball, and not Rafael Nadal. He should distinguish between the punches and the champion Rafael Nadal. He must distinguish between the balls he receives and the champion with the massive track record up front. This is the key.
Felix should be deep in his intentions and not in a corner of his head with Rafael Nadal. You also need to be fully deliberate when you are ahead in scoring because players like this will play well at crucial moments. If one is somewhat passive, that is not enough. He should be aggressive, solid, but without overplaying. He must be there at all points.
Q. Will the stadium be more on the side of Félix or Rafa?
A. The French public is quite sporty and will be polite to both players. If Nadal takes the lead, he is on Felix’s side, and vice versa too. I believe it will be balanced.
Q. Do you also have butterflies in your stomach?
A. Excitement is also good, but as a coach, I try every game to have a very clear tactical intention so that Felix has very simple information. He must have a plan, but he also needs to have plenty of space for his creativity. That’s my job.
Source: Radio-Canada
