Felix Auger-Aliassime: "I wanted to break the curse as soon as possible"
Felix Auger-Aliassime has been able to call himself the title holder on the ATP tour for a few days. This ended a long dry spell for the Canadian.
by Michael Rothschädl
last edit: Feb 27, 2022, 07:16 pm
"I've started signing up for a lot of ATP 250 tournaments so I can break the curse as soon as possible," Felix Auger-Aliassime said on the sidelines of Doha's ATP 500 event. But then it turned out very differently. Not at a tournament in the lowest category, no, at the ATP 500 event in Rotterdam it should finally be time for the young Canadian. The previous nine finals in a row lost.
Of course, it had become apparent that the first title for the 21-year-old was overdue. Felix Auger-Aliassime was already able to succeed alongside Denis Shapovalov in the ATP Cup at the start of the season - so now it should also work in the singles. The fact that it should be a title at ATP 500 level makes this success "even more special" for the Canadian. Especially since he had been able to win against players like Andrey Rublev and Stefanos Tsitsipas.
Auger-Aliassime began to have doubts
An enormously important success for Auger-Aliassime, who had begun to have doubts after his misery in the final: "I tried to always remain positive, although sometimes I even thought that it would be better to lose in the semifinals than in the final . You can see how much pressure I was under at the time," said the Canadian. "The fact that I didn't win the finals had a very negative impact on me."
The win in the Netherlands was of course extremely emotional, and the Canadian called his parents immediately after the win. Who, although not there, knew how to support their son from a distance: "To know that my parents were at home and cheering me on in front of the television is incredible. These are the things for those who decide to go pro -To become a tennis player and keep improving day by day."
In addition to his premiere victory, Auger-Aliassime also spoke about Novak Djokovic, who had played his first tournament in the 2022 calendar year in Dubai. An important sign for the sport, as the Canadian underlined: "It's good for this sport to see Djokovic play. As for the vaccination, I think he explained it really well. Ultimately, he's not the only one, everyone is free to do what he wants and we have to respect that."