TORONTO | “Before every game I am convinced that I will win. I never go into a game thinking I’m going to lose. But the reality is that statistically I have a one in two chance of losing,” said Félix Auger-Aliassime on Tuesday. after losing in the first round of the National Bank Open in Toronto.
And this season, Félix has lost almost every other game with his 13-13 record. He’s now suffered four straight defeats, he who hasn’t stretched his arms to the sky to celebrate a win since May 24.
Photo QMI Agency, Martin Bazyl
No, the Quebecer hadn’t started the year strongly, at least not with the same vigor as the final weeks of the 2022 season, which were crowned with three straight titles.
The trigger
But in April, the “FAA” really faltered, shortly after having to miss the Monte Carlo tournament due to left knee pain that was slow to heal.
The first serious injury of his career, he recalled.
It’s healed now, that aching knee. Auger-Aliassime has been training freely for at least three weeks. That was already “a win,” he agreed on Saturday.
So now he has to sign that first win on the spot, which he believes could serve as a catalyst to push him further up the big tables.
“I train well. “I feel good physically,” he repeated on Tuesday. So I think it’s a matter of time. But that is exactly what is difficult in tennis. […] You have to win your first game.”
“However, I am confident that I can then advance further up the table. I just have to find out what I need to improve now [pour y arriver].”
Find your service
One of the key factors in particular is that first serve, which was so ruthless towards his rivals at the end of last season but is failing him more often this year.
Photo Getty Images via AFP
Including Tuesday, against Max Purcell.
“I served better last week [dans sa défaite à Washington], he remarked shortly after this defeat with 6:4 and 6:4. So to be honest it’s disappointing. […] Especially on my first ball, which is usually my greatest strength. I have to do better [présentement].”
And the Quebecer said he needs to improve his service earnings. However, Purcell, who isn’t the strongest server at the stretch, totally dominated him with his first ball in Tuesday’s opener, winning the 15 disputed points.
Not the first time
Félix also recalled that despite turning 23 – which he celebrated on Tuesday – he had experienced other bad times in the past, although each time it was “like a first”.
None of these difficult sequences are the same, he pointed out.
Photo QMI Agency, Martin Bazyl
“Every year there’s a month or two when things don’t go the way I want them to. i lose games But that’s ok. That’s tennis.”
“However, I should not focus on the events of the past few years. It is useless because circumstances are always different. I just have to think about what’s going on right now.
“But even though I’m 23, sometimes I feel like I’m still 18 [durant les séquences plus pénibles]. I still have the same feelings inside me. […] Of course I’m a better player now. But I don’t suddenly have all the solutions ready to solve things immediately.