Felix Auger Aliassime

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[Damian]

[Damian]

[Damian]

[Damian]

Felix Says Uncle Toni 'Adds Calm & Confidence, Not Pressure'

Spoiler:

This is Felix's second main draw appearance on the Parisian clay

Felix Auger-Aliassime garnered plenty of attention at the start of the clay-court season when he announced that Toni Nadal, Rafael Nadal’s uncle and former longtime coach, was joining his team. But even though “Uncle Toni” has plenty of experience helping his nephew lift the Coupe des Mousquetaires, Auger-Aliassime isn’t adjusting his expectations.

“My expectations haven’t changed since I started working with him. I’ve always had very high expectations all my life and Toni hasn’t added to that,” Auger-Aliassime said. “What I’m trying to do is [reach] the Top 10 and try to win Grand Slams, there is nothing better than that. Adding [someone] that has done it before adds calmness and confidence, rather than pressure.”


The #NextGenATP Canadian has often raved about how much respect he has for Nadal, who is on his team alongside Frederic Fontang. Auger-Aliassime’s best result since their relationship became official was in Barcelona, where Felix made the quarter-finals. This will be the 20-year-old’s second Roland Garros main draw.

“I chose to work with him and I believe he can help me reach my goals and my potential. That’s what we’re working on every day,” Auger-Aliassime said. “The preparation isn’t any different from any tournament or Grand Slam. We try to work with very high commitment, intensity and focus, and every day try and do a little better for when the first day of the tournament comes. We have a lot of good work to do.”



The World No. 21 has already proven that when he is on his game, he can compete with the world’s best. Auger-Aliassime owns three victories against Top 10 opponents, and he has reached seven ATP Tour finals. He will try to find his “zone” on the Parisian clay.

“Every player looks to be in the zone. I have found it before and it’s a great feeling. The balance between being aggressive and consistent, a perfect balance and feeling of being in control of the rallies,” Auger-Aliassime said. “[In] your mind, you feel able to play every point as if it’s the last. You’re not affected by the stakes or the shot.

“It starts from practice, consistency and being close to the zone is difficult, but at least attempting to do so every time. And that starts with practice.”

Auger-Aliassime will play Italian veteran Andreas Seppi in the first round.

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[Damian]

FELIX: TONI NADAL BRINGS CALMNESS AND CONFIDENCE

Spoiler:

World No.21 insists adding the master coach will not change his expectations

Felix Auger-Aliassime and Toni Nadal, Roland Garros 2021, practice
© Julien Crosnier/FFT
When a coach of Toni Nadal’s stature joins Felix Auger-Aliassime’s team, expectations come part and parcel with the sizeable opportunities.

The 20-year-old, ranked 21 in the world, is under no illusion the appointment of Rafael Nadal’s uncle and former long-time coach will bring immediate results and isn’t about to let the anticipation become too great too soon.


As the Canadian prepares to face Italian veteran Andreas Seppi in the first round at Roland-Garros this year, he said the addition to the team was more of an extended plan.

“I don't think the expectations are higher since I've been working with him… All my life I've had very high expectations for myself. I don't think Toni adds more to that,” Auger-Aliassime told rolandgarros.com.

“What I'm trying to do, which is be top 10 and eventually win Grand Slams, there's nothing higher than that. Adding somebody who has done it before just brings I think more calmness and confidence than pressure really.

“That's how I see it, I don't feel like it comes with higher expectations. If people think I should add him to my team and win Roland-Garros right away that's up to them but that's not really how I see it.”

Since Nadal joined the team, Auger-Aliassime has won four of his nine clay-court matches.


His best result came in Barcelona, where he beat compatriot and seventh seed Denis Shapovalov for the second time this year before falling to eventual finalist Stefanos Tsitsipas in the quarter-finals.

In Rome he also claimed a win over last year’s Roland-Garros semi-finalist Diego Schwartzman before Federico Delbonis sent him packing in the round of 16.

Felix Auger-Aliassime and Toni Nadal, Roland Garros 2021, practice
© Julien Crosnier/FFT
“I think he can help me reach my goals, my potential. That's what we're working on every day,” Auger-Aliassime said of Toni Nadal.

“The preparation is not that different or far from what I'm used to doing before tournaments or before Grand Slams.

“Of course we try to work with very high commitment, intensity and focus. That's what I try to do and then every day try to do a little bit better to feel good when the first day of the tournament comes. But I think we have a lot of good work to do to reach further success.”

After he reached his seventh tour final in the Murray River Open to start his season in Melbourne, Auger-Aliassime advanced to the fourth round at a major for the first time at the Australian Open, only to let a two-set lead slip against Aslan Karatsev.


He may not have been in “the zone” that afternoon in Melbourne, but if he found his best in Paris, Auger-Aliassime knows anything is possible.

“I think that's what every player looks for really,” he said. “For me the zone is… the feeling where I think you find the right balance between being aggressive and being consistent and solid in a way.

“It's just the perfect line, the perfect balance when you feel like you have control of the rallies… That's a great feeling that you try to reproduce every time.”

https://www.rolandgarros.com/en-us/arti ... confidence

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[Damian]

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[Kamileki]

Felix Chasing First Title: Auger-Aliassime has reached seven ATP Tour final. Will this be the week that the #NextGenATP star breaks through and lifts his first tour-level trophy? The 20-year-old has enjoyed success on grass before, making the final in Stuttgart in 2019 before advancing to the semi-finals at The Queen’s Club and the third round at Wimbledon that same year. Felix, who is seeded third, will play former Top 10 star Gilles Simon or South African Lloyd Harris in the second round.

https://www.atptour.com/en/news/stuttga ... ing-report

[Damian]

Why Felix Says The Grass Is Always Greener

Spoiler:

Learn about the Canadian's dream Wimbledon opponent
Felix Auger-Aliassime reached the final at the MercedesCup, an ATP 250 event based in Stuttgart, in 2019. The 20-year-old Canadian, who has reached seven ATP Tour finals, is set to get his grass-court season underway this week in the German city.

The #NextGenATP star held an 8-5 record on grass in 2019 and sat down with ATPTour.com to discuss why he would have loved to have faced John McEnroe on the surface, his memories from the incredible Wimbledon final in 2008, and more.

Biggest adjustment physically when switching to grass?
The movement is so different. The steps you take to get to the ball and to change direction and the sliding is different, you don’t try to slide on grass. Usually, it is not a good thing, even though these days we are seeing more and more players being able to slide to get to a drop shot or to defend, so the movement is completely different. You have to be more careful with your steps, you are not moving the same as any other surfaces so that is quite an adjustment. The bounce is lower, you have to get lower on your legs and bend forward a lot more so I remember past years I would get lower back pain or tightness. That is something very recurrent when playing on grass.

Do you suffer from allergies on the grass?
No, I haven't. I have played the grass season once before and it was successful for me.

The first thing that comes to mind when it comes to grass-court tennis?
It is so unique. The first thing that comes to mind is the beauty of it, how nice the feeling is under your feet to be on something so soft and so nice and I think that the fact that we move and there is no sound, just the sound of the ball you hit is a very nice feeling. I think all the players appreciate this little stretch of the season we have, where we play on this unique surface because in the end, it is the most organic surface we have, so it is quite different.

Your favourite thing about playing on grass?
It suites my game I think. I was successful on it two years ago and in the future, I feel I will be able to play well on this surface. It is a surface that when you are aggressive and move forward and have a good serve like I do you can come into the net. Usually, you have good chances of playing well so overall I like the game on the grass. You can also use variety and mix up the spins which is an advantage on grass, so overall it makes for interesting matches and match-ups.

The worst thing about playing on grass?
Movement is tough, you have to adjust. It takes a couple of days or a week to really get into a nice rhythm with the movement so I think that is probably for me one of the toughest things is to move well on grass.

Most memorable Wimbledon match as a fan?
With my generation, of course, Rafa and Roger and the big rivalry they had, so we all think of the 2008 final. That is for me the most memorable one and then also the 2019 final [Djokovic d. Federer] which was a pretty epic one that ended in a tie-break at 12-12 and was pretty crazy, saving match points so, I think that will end up as one of the most epic matches of Wimbledon. In 2008, I was eight-years-old in Canada in my hometown and I had the match on a DVD and recorded it and I would play it again and watch it over and over again. I don’t know how many times I have watched that match but at some point, I knew everything that was happening and the score.

For playing on grass, do you prefer all white or something with colour?
I like the all-white. It is the only time during the year when you have all the players in all white. I think it brings a vintage look like you would see in old country clubs and classic clubs. I like it, it is very unique, and honestly if I had to choose for the few tournaments we had, especially Wimbledon, that is going to stay that way forever and I like it.

You get the Royal Box + 1, who would you bring?
That is not easy because you want to bring a family member, like my dad, for him to experience that. Hopefully, he gets to watch my match one day on the Centre Court in the box. I am sure my girlfriend would love it and as a celebrity David Beckham has been going to Wimbledon for many years, so it would be pretty cool to see him next to you in the royal box.

Serve and volley or chip and charge?
I would say serve and volley. I think I have one of the good serves on the tour and I think I can use that for my advantage and that is what I would go for more than chip and charge.

Fresh cut grass or worn-down grass?
Worn out a little bit. I talked about the movement earlier and honestly when it is worn out, I just feel it is almost easier to move in a way. It doesn’t look as nice for the people and when you watch on TV but sometimes as a player, it makes the movement a little easier. But the feeling of stepping for the first time on the fresh Wimbledon grass is also really special. It is also a good sign if you are on a court that is worn out as you are at the end of the tournament.

If you could play any player from any generation on grass, who would it be and why?
I would go with John McEnroe. I think that would be cool. Of course, there have been other amazing players who have played on grass like Roger [Federer] as well, and I think Roger would be pretty exciting from the videos I have watched of him. He is such a special and exciting player to watch and I think it would be cool to play him in an event like Wimbledon. [Against Federer], I would like to dictate because he is going to try and mix it up and come to the net and put pressure on me. I would try and dictate the points and not react to what he is doing to me and play with my stronger shot on his weaker shot and expose that. If I am playing him now, I will try and make him move. If I had to play him it would be two opposing styles. [On McEnroe}, it makes the match exciting when you have a player like John who gets the crowd into it and fights with referees. It just makes it more exciting.

Build the perfect grass-court player - forehand, backhand, serve, volley, slice
Serve, Milos Raonic. He has made finals [at Wimbledon] so I think I am pretty safe with that. Forehand, Roger Federer, and backhand I’d go with Novak Djokovic. Volley, Nicolas Mahut, and for the slice, Feliciano Lopez.

Three things you would bring while waiting in the Wimbledon Queue overnight?
These days we all use our phones while waiting but of course, I would try and not go alone and be with someone I would have a good time with. Then probably a little book about tennis to pass the time. In my position, I know everything about tennis but if someone comes to Wimbledon for the first time and wants to know a little bit about the history of the tournament or wants to know more about tennis, waiting in the queue I do not think there is anything better.

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[Damian]

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[Damian]

Felix After Stuttgart Win: 'If It Happens To Federer, It Can Also Happen To Me'

Spoiler:

The #NextGenATP Canadian will next play sixth seed Humbert
Felix Auger-Aliassime had to ride a roller-coaster of momentum on Thursday at the MercedesCup, but the last wave went in the #NextGenATP Canadian’s favour.

Despite letting slip an opportunity to serve out the match against Lloyd Harris and later facing two set points against him, Auger-Aliassime beat the South African 6-3, 7-6(4) to reach the quarter-finals in Stuttgart.

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“It’s not often you serve for the match with two match points and you lose it. But I remember Federer’s final [at] Wimbledon two years ago and I thought to myself, ‘Well if it happens to him it can also happen to me, and I can try to find a way to win,’” Auger-Aliassime said. “We’re humans and it’s normal that sometimes the nerves get to us closing out a match. It was difficult for me at 5-4 to try to settle down again and find a way to get a good level and win the second set. But I think I did well.

“I’m happy the way the match ended. I think the most important is to win the last point of the match, so I did that, I played a great tie-break, so I can be happy with how I finished. And now I have an opportunity to fight for another win tomorrow.”


Two years ago, Auger-Aliassime reached the Stuttgart final, the Queen’s Club semi-finals and the third round at Wimbledon. The 20-year-old was happy to make a winning start to his 2021 grass-court season against a dangerous opponent in Harris, against whom he saved nine of the 10 break points he faced. Next up will be sixth seed Ugo Humbert, who beat wild card Yannick Hanfmann 7-6(9), 6-2 earlier in the day.

“It was a good way to start for me. In the end, the most important is to find a way to win and to try to go to the next round and keep going in the tournament,” Auger-Aliassime said. “I always feel comfortable on the grass, I think it suits my game well. Hopefully I can keep on winning and go really far this week and in the upcoming tournaments as well.”

Top seed Denis Shapovalov took the early lead against Spanish veteran Feliciano Lopez, but was unable to close out the match before rain suspended match for the evening. They will resume on Friday with the score tied 6-2, 6-7(2). The winner will play former World No. 3 Marin Cilic in the quarter-finals.

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[Damian]

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