Auger-Aliassime following Cincinnati victory : “I never doubted my abilities or the player I am”

A first-round win at any tournament — even one as important as a Masters 1000 — generally isn’t a big deal for someone ranked in the top 20.

But Felix Auger-Aliassime isn’t your typical top-20 player. The 23-year-old peaked as high as No 6 in the world last season and has been touted as a potential Grand Slam champion ion the future, but he now finds himself at No 14 and has been struggling with both injuries and his overall game in 2023. In fact, Auger-Aliassime had lost four matches in a row heading into the Western & Southern Open. He was 1-7 in his last eight matches with a win only against world No 240 Pablo Llamas Ruiz during that stretch.

That’s why Monday’s 4-6, 6-2, 6-3 victory over Matteo Berrettini was such a big one for the Canadian.

It’s nice to get a win finally

Felix Auger-Aliassime

“I never doubted my abilities or the player I am,” Auger-Aliassime explained during his post-match press conference. “I think I have proven to myself and others that I’m among the best players in the world in the past. Now, this year has been challenging due to different reasons. Of course the knee injury that lasted very long kept me on the sideline and also just not playing with the intensity and the level that I can play and that I should play.

“I think nowadays it’s tough. You really need to be at your best. Take a first round like today and all the matches I’m going to play this week, you really need to move well and be explosive — need to play at your best. The level right now these days is too even — too close. I was really struggling a lot this year.

“Since I came back on hard-court swing I felt much better. I just needed to accept, okay, I lost two matches in a row. Not the comeback I was hoping for, but now it’s my third week back since kind of the injury, and it’s nice to get a win finally.”

Auger-Aliassime hopes to regain 2022 form

Cincinnati’s No 12 seed will hope to secure another win when he faces French veteran Adrian Mannarino in the second round.

It would be another step toward regaining his form of old — form that last season took him the Australian Open quarter-finals, to five sets with Rafael Nadal at Roland-Garros, to a berth in the Nitto ATP Finals and to a Davis Cup title with Canada.

“Of course there were matches last year where I played some of the best tennis I’ve played,” he reflected. “I beat great players, great opponents. I had also some tough losses in slams, for example, last year.

“Right now I feel good about my game. Like, on the practice court or now physically I feel pretty good. I’m not too far from, like, the best version of myself. But at the same time, we’ll see. I need kind of more matches to say, ‘Okay, I’m really playing great, great tennis again.’ Or, you know, that’s why it’s important for me today was great, but it’s important to keep going with that same desire and same determination.

“I think if I can win more matches this week then I can kind of prove to myself again or even confirm what I have been feeling — which is, you know, I’m there. I’m not like so far from my best level.”

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