United States Open | Felix sees far

“I hope to go even further than last year”

Richard Hetu
special collaboration

(New York) He readily projects himself into the future. Not only by talking about the tournament in which he will engage Monday in New York against a player from the qualifications, but also by evoking his career which is still in its infancy.

Felix Auger-Aliassime, 6^e seed of the United States Tennis Open, already imagines himself in the shoes of a thirty-something when answering a question about how he feels in New York, this megalopolis where he caused a sensation almost as strong as her compatriot Leylah Fernandez, last year.

“It’s hard to explain, but you feel good in some tournaments, and New York is one of them,” said the Quebec tennis player on Saturday during an interview with a group of Canadian journalists nearby. Arthur Ashe Stadium. “As I have often said, I had a very good time here. Last year was one. I hope this is just the start. »

Of course, that means Auger-Aliassime sees himself returning to New York as the defending U.S. Open champion one day, and not just in his 20s, but also in his 30s. He has already been in the juniors in 2016. And he approached this goal last year by participating, on the court of the Arthur-Ashe stadium, in his first semi-final in a Grand Slam event.

“It’s a very big moment in my career,” he said, referring to this match after which he lost in three sets to the Russian Daniil Medvedev. “It is sure that I will remember it for a long time. But I also hope it won’t be just once. I hope to go even further than last year. I lost in the semi-final, that means there is an opportunity to go to the final and win. At the end of the day, what I want to do in my career is win tournaments like this. »

Unlike Fernandez, Auger-Aliassime carefully examined the portion of the board in which the draw placed him.

“On paper, I have what it takes to go to the quarter-finals. I’ve done it before, and even better. Obviously, the path is long in a Grand Slam tournament. It’s never easy to be in the quarter-finals, semi-finals or final. But this year, I believe so, it is a possibility. »

The Medvedev Obstacle

He knows very well that Medvedev, the first player in the world and defending champion, could once again stand in front of him to block his way in a Grand Slam tournament, as he did in the semi-finals last year in New York, and as he did at the start of the year in the quarterfinals in Australia, after an epic five-set match that the Quebecer came close to winning.

The two players could reconnect in the quarter-finals.

“I know it’s there,” he told the rep. The Press referring to this possibility. “There are still four games before we get there. I approach every game with the confidence that I can do it. But it is always with the humility of knowing that each opponent is difficult to play. We have to commit. We have to be vigilant in every game. »

After a very brief break, Auger-Aliassime quickly returned to Medvedev.

“I’m getting closer,” he said, staring his interlocutor in the eye.

Auger-Aliassime’s first match will be played in the middle or late afternoon on the Grandstand. He will oppose the Quebecer to the Swiss Alexander Ritschard, 185^e player in the world.

“Not much,” Auger-Aliassime answered when asked what he knows about his first opponent in New York. “I’ve seen his record, but I don’t know how he plays. I think that [ce dimanche], I’m going to take the time to watch some videos of his matches, just to get an idea of ​​the player I have to face. Then I will focus on myself. I know that if I play well, if I play like I can, I can win the match. But you have to be vigilant. You have to be ready. He is a player who has won three matches in qualifying. He has nothing to lose and he will try to give it his all. »

We can expect Félix Auger-Aliassime to do the same, and not just in his first game in New York.