At 20, we feel
Still a slightly fragile soul
But not so docile
We learn, politely
To control his impatience
And his beautiful insolence
And Marlène Schiappa can quote Ben, the uncle of Peter Parker alias Spider-Man, here, we do even stronger: Lorie. Since his first steps in Challenger at 14, Félix Auger-Aliassime has been insolent at precocity. To the point of being very quickly expected as a future tennis superhero. At 20 spring, far from being docile for the competition, he is already 18th in the world. And this in spite of the “freezing” of the classification slowing down its rise a little. Only downside, his shoulders have not yet been strong enough to lift a trophy on the main circuit. After three finals played in 2019 – Rio de Janeiro, Lyon, Stuttgart -, three more in 2020 – Rotterdam, Marseille, Cologne 1 – and one last January at the Murray River Open, he still has to take his troubles patiently. “Already lost seven finals? It’s starting to do a bit much”, Do I think very hard. Admittedly, projecting in a gross way this number can be frightening. But once shelled, it is less the case. Like a Dr. Octopus with its mechanical tentacles removed.
Four times, Auger-Aliassime lost to better ranked than him. In Rio, Rotterdam, Marseille and Cologne, he was beaten by Laslo Djere, Gaël Monfils, Stéfanos Tsitsipás, and Alexander Zverev. They were then respectively ranked 90th, 9th, 6th and 7th, while the Canadian was in 104th, 21st, 18th and 22nd places at the time of these clashes. On the clay of Lyon, beaten by Benoît Paire and his farandole of amortizations, he was not able to fully defend his chances. Physically affected, he played a good part of the game on one and a half legs. Injury having then forced him to withdraw from Roland-Garros. In Stuttgart, on grass, he fell in front of a Matteo Berrettini and his service colossus in full bloom. A few months later, the Italian competed in the Masters. Nothing infamous, then. On the other hand, the last setback, in Melbourne, was undoubtedly more difficult to digest. It was against Daniel Evans, 33rd in the world on the charts still a virgin at the time.
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“There is no reason to worry about him” – Stéfanos Tsitsipás
In the Open era, only three men did “worse” than “FAA”: Julien Benneteau, Pat Dupre and Cédric Pioline. Another statistic that can be interpreted as a sign “of a little fragile soul”At the crucial moment: Félix Auger-Aliassime has never won a single round in the final. But, used to seeing the bright side of things, the young man prefers to use these potential sources of concern to fill his glass and see it more than half full. “People talk about it more and more (his defeats in the final, editor’s note), but at the end of the day it’s a good thing because it means that I play finals, he explained for Fox Sports Mexico during the Acapulco tournament last week. Sometimes we try to make these results negative, but I think they are positive. I was already able (at only 20 years old, editor’s note), to play as many finals. Of course, I’m the first to want to win them, but that’s how it is. This is my story. You don’t always get what you want. ”
Falling Quebecer in the quarter-finals of the Mexican ATP 500, Stéfanos Tsitsipás does not worry about his youngest child. “I would be surprised if he didn’t overcome his difficulties, said the Greek at a press conference after their duel. He just needs a little more time. It takes patience. Sometimes you have to fail several times before you get what you want. I believe he’s someone who has a very strong will, like me, and that kind of personality always ends up achieving his goal. He is a guy full of qualities; great technique… there really is no need to worry about him.”Although defeated – 7/5 4/6 6/3 in 2:06 – by the current 5th player in the world, Félix Auger-Aliassime was up to the task. “We played a very high intensity match, both offering incredible tennis.”, Analyzed the native of Athens. Enough to approach the first Masters 1000 of the season with confidence.
Top 10 goal
After the Australian Open where he was beaten by Aslan Karatsev – one of the ogres of the start of the season – in the round of 16, the slight phyisuqe glitch against Kei Nishikori in Rotterdam, then Acapulco, place at the Miami tournament for “FAA”. Amputated by 50% of its direct entrants – including Rafael Nadal, Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic – the Florida event has windfall for the usual outsiders steeped in strengths. Seed number 11, Félix Auger-Aliassime must face Pedro Sousa or Pierre-Hugues Herbert, recent finalist in Marseille, for his entry into the running. In case of victory, he could then find John Isner, his scorer in the semifinals of the 2019 edition. The Canadian’s best performance to date in this category of event. A similar course this year would allow him to get closer to the top 10. One of his main objectives in the medium term. “Obviously I want to improve my ranking, he explained, always for Fox Sports Mexico. But that will be a consequence of my results in important tournaments, and the consistency that it requires.”
A personal happiness that would also make that of others. The more he succeeds, the more the children of Kara, Togo region, are supported. Since early 2020, for each exchange won on the court, Félix Auger-Aliassime, as part of the #FAAPointForChange operation, has donated $ 5 to help finance the EduChange program set up by the NGO Care. Associated with the project, BNP Paribas completes by adding $ 15 per point. During this first quarter of 2021, the money collected was used in particular for rehabilitation work in schools, the establishment of educational support systems within them or the purchase of sports equipment. At 13, deeply marked by his trip to his father’s homeland, the Montrealer felt driven by the desire, the need to help others. Barely out of adolescence, he has already achieved this goal. Whether on or off the courts, at 20, nothing seems impossible for Félix Auger-Aliassime.
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