(Paris) Félix Auger-Aliassime does not believe he is the victim of bad luck at the French Open, but the Canadian number 1 is still looking for a first victory in the main draw on clay in Paris.
Posted yesterday at 4:29 p.m.
The 21-year-old Quebecer has traveled Europe for the past six weeks in hopes of finding his touch on clay. Now that he has arrived in Paris, he hopes that the fifth time will be the good one.
After all, it’s not like Auger-Aliassime is incapable of success on clay.
His first career final on the ATP Tour, in Rio de Janeiro when he was 18, took place on this surface. He has several clay-court Challenger titles to his name. And in 2016, he reached the junior final of the French Open.
However, even though he had long runs in the other three major tournaments, Auger-Aliassime still did not achieve a breakthrough at Roland-Garros.
“I lost twice in the first round, which happened to me in other tournaments. In those, I managed to win a first game and then things unblocked. So it’s nothing special here,” Auger-Aliassime said Friday.
He will play his first-round match on Sunday against Peruvian qualifier Juan Pablo Varillas.
Auger-Aliassime finds himself in the “death quarter” of the table, along with defending champion Novak Djokovic and holder of 13 French Open titles Rafael Nadal. Auger-Aliassime could find Nadal in his way in the fourth round.
Before that, Auger-Aliassime will have to defeat Varillas, 104and in the world ranking. Varillas, 26, will be playing his first main draw match at Roland Garros.
The two players have faced each other before. A few weeks before his junior final in Paris, a 15-year-old Auger-Aliassime had beaten Varillas, then 665and in the world, at a tournament in Spain.
Auger-Aliassime needed just two years to progress from the boys’ final to the men’s qualifiers in 2018. However, he lost his flag in the second round of qualifying against Spaniard Jaume Munar.
In 2019, Auger-Aliassime reached the final in Lyon the week before Paris. He also suffered a thigh injury and had to withdraw before his first main draw match at the French Open.
In 2020, the tournament was held in October due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Auger-Aliassime eventually made his main draw debut as 19and first in the series. However, he lost out in three sets against the Japanese Yoshihito Nishioka.
Eight months later, in May 2021, Auger-Aliassime had another tough outing and lost in four sets to Italian veteran Andreas Seppi in the opening round.
“Luck has not smiled on me in previous years and I have not played at a very high level in the last two editions, acknowledged Auger-Aliassime. But I’m getting better every year. I arrive here still a little better and I hope to be able to play better than in the past. »
Auger-Aliassime is having a rollercoaster 2022 season, although he was able to stay within the top 10 in the world.
He won his first ATP title in February in Rotterdam in his ninth final and he followed that up the following week with another appearance in Marseille.
However, the U.S. portion of the schedule was a disaster, with setbacks on his first outings in Indian Wells and Miami.
Auger-Aliassime filled her schedule during the clay-court season, appearing in six tournaments. He won a few games, but suffered a few upsets.
It wasn’t until the Madrid Masters that he finally felt things were starting to click. He then beat No. 12 Jannik Sinner, en route to a quarter-final appearance.
The following week in Rome, he was in bad shape in the first round against Spaniard Alejandro Davidovich Fokina and needed lower back treatment on the pitch. Auger-Aliassime, however, turned the tide en route to victory and another quarter-final appearance.
He then crossed swords with Djokovic for the first time in his career and lost 7-5, 7-6 (1) after a good battle.
“It was a good game against Novak, who played well when the time was right, who was the champion he is when it was necessary,” said Auger-Aliassime. I’m going in the right direction. I feel good and I’m confident with the level at which I’ve been playing over the past few weeks. »