Felix Auger-Aliassime: ‘I Need To Bounce Back’ | ATP Tour

Felix Auger-Aliassime is decided to reply on the Nitto ATP Finals following his round-robin defeat Sunday towards Casper Ruud in Turin.

The Canadian arrived on the prestigious year-end occasion having received 16 of his previous 17 matches. Nevertheless, he was unable to seek out his greatest stage towards the Norwegian on the Pala Alpitour, leaving him with work to do if he’s to qualify for the semi-finals.

“My again is towards the wall,” Auger-Aliassime mentioned in his post-match press convention. “It could have been higher to begin with a win right here. For Casper, I am positive it is a large weight off his shoulders. For me, I must bounce again and play higher, play somewhat bit higher. I am not removed from enjoying properly, however there are some things I can do higher. I’ll attempt to use the day tomorrow to do this, to work on just a few issues.”

The 22-year-old loved a formidable finish to the season, lifting tour-level trophies in Florence, Antwerp and Basel. His kind propelled him to seventh within the Pepperstone ATP Stay Race To Turin, earlier than he sealed qualification in Paris.

Auger-Aliassime admitted that he felt the strain within the lead-up to his debut match in Turin, however felt his nerves didn’t affect his efficiency towards Ruud.

“I used to be fascinated with it the previous few days,” mentioned Auger-Aliassime when requested concerning the strain of competing in Turin. “It is sort of unusual. You’ve this stress and strain, this power to qualify for this occasion the entire yr. Particularly on the finish of the yr, [with] the way in which I did it. You [come here], however there are nonetheless matches to play and compete. It isn’t like, now I am certified, I can relaxation. I used to be pondering that might be a mistake, to come back right here and act like I am pleased and that is it.

“I felt good immediately. No drawback. I used to be pondering perhaps my first time I am not going to really feel nice. From the primary balls, I felt good, I felt regular. I’ve performed on different large levels earlier than. This match [didn’t] really feel any completely different.”

Auger-Aliassime will look to bounce again when he faces Rafael Nadal and Taylor Fritz in his remaining Inexperienced Group matches in Italy. The 22-year-old feels he must return higher if he’s to advance.

“I really feel up to now few weeks and months, once I was enjoying properly, I used to be returning a lot better than I did immediately,” Auger-Aliassime mentioned. “[I was] nonetheless serving nice, other than one recreation the place it wasn’t even my serve. I did just a few errors, unhealthy errors, within the second set. I felt like I might have returned a lot better and given myself probabilities as a result of I received [only] just a few factors on my return, and that is not sufficient towards a participant like Casper.”