LONDON | His first half of the season was marked by injuries, including one to a tendon in his left knee which sometimes remains painful. There are also those surprising losses, given the state of grace he was in at the end of the last year. Despite everything, Félix Auger-Aliassime says he remains confident, two days before his first match at Wimbledon.
“I’m anticipating another good period coming soon where I’m going to start having wins again,” he said on the traditional media day at the All England Club on Saturday.
Will it be at Wimbledon, where he lost in the first round last year, but also where he reached the quarter-finals, his first major Grand Slam result, in 2021?
“If I can win the first round and continue in the tournament, I think I can do something good,” said the 11e favorite of the most prestigious of major tournaments […] I feel ready to attack the tournament.”
Find your best ranking… and even better
One thing is certain, Félix does not seem to let his physical problems and his results fall short of expectations get him down. In front of the journalists who came to meet him, his cap adorned with its new “FAA” logo on the headthe Quebecer spoke very calmly of the past few months.
But above all, of the next ones. Because he still believes he can turn the tide in his favor in the second half of the year. He also has goals in mind, such as “finding [son] best ranking”, sixth in the world, or even “better still”.
“I’m not angry or impatient,” he pointed out. I accepted the last period. There are seasons [plus difficiles] in a career. I don’t see it badly.”
“I still have the same confidence, the same ambition that I have what it takes to win a tournament like this,” he continued. […] Never, even for this year, do my ambitions diminish. I still have big ambitions for this year. I will try to do the best for the second half of the season.”
A surprise rival
The first step in this return “to his best ranking” will be his match against American Michael Mmoh, 119e World Cup and drafted after losing in the final round of qualifying Monday around 7:15 a.m. Eastern Time.
Félix was initially set to face Serbian Filip Krajinovic, gifted on grass, whom he had beaten in their last three meetings after losing the first two. But the 204e world announced on Saturday that he was withdrawing from the tournament with a wrist injury.
To the media, “FAA” said he was delighted to face a player he had already faced in the past. Here he is now facing nothingness. He never crossed swords with Mmoh, who had surprised by reaching the third round in Melbourne at the start of the year.
But, as he likes to say, “no tournament is easy”, no matter the opponent.
He sees himself winning Wimbledon… one day
With his powerful serve, Félix Auger-Aliassime holds a weapon that could one day make him the last undefeated player at the All England Club, on the final Sunday of the fortnight.
The 22-year-old knows it. If he hopes to win “all the Grand Slam tournaments”, he also says that Wimbledon is a title he sees himself winning.
But not so fast, he adds. Because for a long time, points out Félix – 20 years, to be precise – a coronation in London remains the prerogative of Roger Federer, Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal and Andy Murray. No other player has triumphed there since 2003.
“It’s still a tough tournament to win. But at some point, [ils prendront tous leur retraite]and young people will start to win it…” he says.