ROTTERDAM | Félix Auger-Aliassime, who landed at the Rafael Nadal Academy in early February to refine his preparations for his return to playing in Rotterdam, was invited for a tour of the premises by the owner himself.
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Back home treating his injuries and absent from the circuit, Nadal has been able to spend time with the Auger-Aliassime team, which includes his special adviser Toni Nadal, the Tonoger’s uncle and longtime coach.
“I had already made a full visit, but there were several renovations and it’s nice to see the development,” said the eighth racket in the ATP ranking, who was also accompanied by some other relatives of his sports team.
“During the visit to the museum, Rafael told me about the importance of certain trophies and stories related to certain tournaments. It’s always interesting to talk to him. »
Ever since Auger-Aliassime became one of the best players in the world and Nadal gave the anthology match at Roland-Garros last year by becoming just the third player to push him in five sets in his favorite tournament, Auger-Aliassime has feel that his relationship with the Spanish star has evolved.
Respect
“Rafa has always been very correct, kind and humble to me, but our relationship has changed a bit since I confirmed my place among the best. He respects the player that I am and can become. We always had good conversations and I appreciate every opportunity to talk to him, but also to Roger Federer, Andy Murray and Novac Djokovic. I’m trying to find out about their experiences and their attitude towards tennis. »
If the social aspect was very much appreciated, Auger-Aliassime mainly went to the island of Mallorca to hone his game under the watchful eyes of Toni Nadal.
“It was the first time I worked with Toni at the academy,” he said. He usually comes to Monaco or certain tournaments. We were able to spend some time there and it was a very good week. I got what I was looking for. »
outer eye
Photo from @rnadalacademy Twitter account
The Quebecer immortalized his visit to the famous establishment, accompanied by the Spaniard.
What goals did Auger-Aliassime pursue behind this multi-day trip? “In tournaments we don’t have much time to practice and the dynamics are different. At the academy, we took the time to chat during training. You could spend three to four hours a day in the field. »
Auger-Aliassime occasionally likes to use someone outside of his daily circle to judge his game.
“It’s good to benefit from Toni’s experience, but I also like to get an outside opinion. Frederick [Fontang] plans and ensures continuity, but he’s less aware of the differences in my game because he’s used to seeing me every day. »
“Toni sees me on TV and is present at some tournaments, but the break of a few months allows him to see the development of my game. He can confirm what we worked on last time and what adjustments I made. His different language allows me and Fred to challenge each other. »
THE Coach recognize
Fontang also enjoyed this jump to the Nadal Academy.
“We haven’t been there in almost two years and the timing was right,” he said. It helps to use Toni’s outer eye. After the Australian Open we were able to work on our game and physical appearance. Cuts are always important and Félix found the match phase when we arrived in Rotterdam with very good training partners. »
The FAA begins defending its championship title with vigour
Photo provided by Brett Florens
Félix Auger-Aliassime in action during his first round match at the Rotterdam tournament against Italy’s Lorenzo Sonego.
Félix Auger-Aliassime started his title defense at Tuesday’s ABN Amro Open on the right foot by easily beating Italy’s Lorenzo Sonego 6-2, 6-3.
Unlike last year when he lost the first set of his opening match to Egor Gerasimov, Auger-Aliassime was never worried. He held serve all game and only had to salvage two break points in the first game of the second set when he was 15-40 behind.
“My last win was at the Australian Open a few weeks ago and it’s positive to win my first match in two consecutive sets,” underscored the 8th racquet in the world. I’m happy with my game against a player who can be annoying and who is competitive. »
“It’s very good to win this way and it’s started the week well as we tracked Auger-Aliassime, who topped the ATP Tour with 31 indoor wins last year.
“I’m completely satisfied, because a first game can always be dangerous. It’s not pressure to be the defending champion, but more motivation to want to win again. »
Solid on serve and return
Auger-Aliassime wasn’t bothered by his opponent’s powerful serve, which finished off friend Denis Shapovalov in the Davis Cup semifinals in Malaga last November.
“Against Denis he had scored about twenty aces and I’m glad I didn’t experience that. If he had served the same way he did at Davis Cup, it would have been more complicated. It served with power, but it wasn’t precise enough. I dare to imagine that the quality of my returns made all the difference,” he surmised.
Auger-Aliassime, author of 13 aces against just one for the Italian and a 67% success rate on his first ball, shuffled his serves well to tease his opponent.
“I served very well and was very precise,” he explained. I varied my goals well and I felt like he didn’t know what to expect anymore. It happened on the first shots [service et retour] when I left, but I also took the lead in the changes after that. »
Bat
If he wasn’t troubling Auger-Aliassime, Sonego had kept two players in the top 10 in recent years.
A lucky loser, he beat Novak Djokovic in the quarterfinals in Vienna 2020 while the Serb was number one and defeated Hubert Hurkacz in the semifinals in Metz 2022 en route to his third career title at the time. where the Pole found himself in 10th place.
Besides the big ones
Because of his title last year, Félix Auger-Aliassime is entitled to his banner in the heights of Rotterdam Ahoy as well as a photo on the number one field.
“It is special to see my banner with those of Roger Federer and Andy Murray, emphasized Auger-Aliassime. It’s a tournament with a rich history. »
On Monday after training with the FAA at No. 1, Denmark’s Holger Rune jokingly wrote on his Twitter feed. “Now is not the time to miss a volley with Roger Federer looking on. In the photo attached to the message, we saw Rune in action with his idol’s photo in the background.
triumphant return
Absent from Rotterdam for several years, Roger Federer made a comeback in 2018 just weeks after winning the Australian Open.
A good performance would allow him to climb to the top of the ATP rankings, a first in five years, which convinced him to return to the Netherlands. He didn’t do things by halves when he won the crowd-pulling tournament of his history.
“As tournament director, this is my best moment,” said Richard Krajicek, who took over as tournament director in 2004.
Former Winners
In the history of the Rotterdam tournament, which is celebrating its 50th anniversary, several big names in tennis have won the title. Roger Federer is one of them. The Swiss won in 2005, 2012 and 2018. He is the only one to claim three titles.
Jimmy Connors (1978 and 1981), Arthur Ashe (1975 and 1976), Gael Monfils (2019 and 2020) and Event Managing Director Richard Krajicek (1995 and 1997) were each awarded the highest honors twice.
Other notable winners include Andy Murray in 2009 and Bjorn Borg in 1979.