MELBOURNE, Australia | After hugging Jiri Lehecka at the net, greeting the referee and putting away his racquets, Félix Auger-Aliassiame exited Margaret Court Arena and gave the cheering crowd a thumbs-up.
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The Quebecer had closed his face. Those four games in Melbourne didn’t go the way the strongman of the final weeks of 2022 would have liked.
But when he says he remains “unsatisfied”, disappointed “not to have expressed his game so well”, “FAA” said that after this 4-6, 6-3 defeat he quickly moved on again in the dressing room be , 7:6 (2) and 7:6 (3) against the 71st in the world, Sunday in the round of 16.
“After the game, I digest my emotions a bit. I try to stay calm. And after that, honestly, I’m thinking about what’s in store for me, ”he explained to the journalists who came out to meet him.
In fact, Félix seemed to have handled his emotions well when he appeared in front of media representatives about an hour after his elimination.
After his autopsy, he even thanked the journalists for being there and wished them “Welcome back” to all the class that made his reputation on the track.
“What’s done is done,” he conceded calmly. I’m thinking about how I’m going to organize my next few weeks before the tournament in Rotterdam. »
The defending champion
In Rotterdam Felix will be the defending champion in mid-February. It was here that he set his ATP record last year, ending a curse of nine consecutive finals defeats.
Auger-Aliassime ended the year with four individual trophies, as well as triumphs at the ATP Cup, Laver Cup and Davis Cup.
His grandiose episode had set the mood: three titles in a row in October, in Florence, Antwerp and Basel. Félix’s streak of 16 matches ended at the Paris Masters against young Dane Holger Rune, who is still at this Australian Open.
No time for pressure
But if the “FAA” said before the Australian Open that they would rather see this start of the year as an extension of 2022, he said on Sunday that he did not show up in Melbourne with the pressure of having to continue his good swing.
In fact, the 22-year-old didn’t have time to think about it. He has spent the last few days and especially the last meetings in solution mode.
“No, I didn’t feel like I was under any pressure. I felt good before the game [de quatrième tour contre Lehecka]. I started the last two games well. »
“But I struggled in every one of my meetings, so I didn’t really have time to think beyond the game I was playing. I was just trying to find a way to win and level up. »