TORINO | At Roland-Garros in June, Félix Auger-Aliassime faced the absolute king of clay. And at the ATP Finals in Turin on Tuesday around 8 a.m., Rafael Nadal will face the new king of hard.
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Due to his incredible push in recent weeks, the Quebecer is the player who claims the most wins on this rubber, both indoors and outdoors, in 2022. He has 41, out of a total of 56 games won this season.
The confrontation is decisive, because whoever loses it will have almost no chance of qualifying for the four aces. Both Félix and “Rafa” were defeated in their first meeting, respectively by Casper Ruud and Taylor Fritz.
This surface – particularly fast in Turin – the Spaniard does not necessarily appreciate. In lack of matches, “Rafa” found Sunday against the American Fritz that the speed of the court did not play to his advantage.
“I had the impression that everything was going so fast, he analyzed after his defeat. He was constantly offensive and I always found myself on the defensive.
This is an aspect that Felix will have to use to his advantage on Tuesday, against the number 1 seed, a player he has never beaten, in two matches (all played on the ochre).
“We have information”
Because in his setback against the Norwegian Ruud on Sunday, the Quebecer still “served very well”, judged his coach Frédéric Fontang at the Log.
“The problem was his returns, especially on the second ball,” added the Frenchman, who intended to take advantage of yesterday’s day to “make small adjustments” in his protege’s game.
“Now that he has played this first match, we have information on the balls, on the speed of the court”, he specified.
With professionalism
The ATP Finals offer a particular challenge to some players: that of pitting them against opponents ranked among the world’s top 10 from the outset.
This is a bit of Nadal’s problem, who has never won this event in 10 appearances, his uncle and former coach Toni pointed out yesterday, who is now Auger-Aliassime’s advisor. The Spaniard usually uses his first games of a tournament as preparation.
But not that of the fifth favorite. “The preparation remains the same, raised Fontang. We are always professional, we always focus on Félix’s weapons and we adjust them according to the opponent, who we know anyway.
The important thing, Toni Nadal added on Monday, will be that he does not lose his concentration during the match. “In this tournament, every point is important. That’s what I told Rafa the first time he played it [en… 2006].”
Only positive
If Auger-Aliassime were to lose, Fontang still sees nothing but positive in this first appearance of Félix in the championship at the end of the season. Even if it’s not the result he wants, of course!
“It rewards a great year, but we remain very focused on winning. But regardless, it will be a very important experience for the future.”