Felix Auger-Aliassime: "I have trouble maintaining the level"
Felix Auger-Aliassime had to give up surprisingly early after strong weeks in the Davis and Laver Cups at the ATP 500 event in Astana. In the run-up to the tournament, the Canadian had identified Constance as currently the biggest construction site.
by Michael Rothschädl
last edit: Oct 04, 2022, 07:54 am
Victories over the number one in the world and Novak Djokovic within a few days has been an unusual event in tennis in recent years. There are basically two reasons for this: On the one hand, until Daniil Medvedev's (second) breakthrough to the top of the world, it was quite rare that Novak Djokovic did not hold the number one position himself. And on the other hand, it's just as difficult to win against a number one in the world as it is to bring Novak Djokovic to his knees.
Felix Auger-Aliassime has managed to do both in the last few days. The Canadian initially showed a great performance at the Davis Cup and defeated Carlos Alcaraz, at the Laver Cup a few days later the youngster followed up and surprisingly forced the returnee Novak Djokovic to his knees in two sets. It had been two very good weeks, emphasized Auger-Aliassime in the run-up to Astana's ATP 500 event. "In these team competitions, I was able to play well and improve my level when needed, when my team was counting on me."
Consistency at Auger-Aliassime a problem
In these matches, Auger-Aliassime emphasized that he showed exactly those attributes that make his game so strong: "I played really good, offensive tennis - really controlled aggression," said the Canadian. "When I'm able to do that, serve well, stay in rallies and feel good physically, I feel like, yeah, I'm one of the most competitive players out there. I can beat anyone, really. " Auger-Aliassime showed that in Valencia and London.
Nevertheless, Auger-Aliassime also explained that it was still a major shortcoming in his game, not being able to play it 100% consistently week after week. "I'm having a hard time maintaining that level and that's something I'm trying to do better month after month, year after year." Auger-Aliassime also recently showed this other side of the coin, in Astana it put a huge damper on the youngster on Monday: The 22-year-old lost to Roberto Bautista Agut in round one in two sets. These setbacks should become less frequent in the future: "But I have faith that with the work and thinking about what I can do better every time, I will reach a point where every time I'm on the pitch, can reach that level."