Felix: ‘How Do I Explain It?’

One year ago this week, Felix Auger-Aliassime was No. 172 in the ATP Rankings with just one tour-level win to his name. Then 17, the Canadian was still battling his way through the ATP Challenger Tour.

Flash forward to Friday, and the World No. 21 beat top seed Stefanos Tsitsipas to become the youngest player in 20 years to reach the semi-finals of the Fever-Tree Championships, putting himself within one victory of cracking the Top 20 for the first time. He can accomplish that feat by defeating former champion Feliciano Lopez on Saturday.

“How do I explain it?” Auger-Aliassime asked. “I think it’s the result of a lot of work behind years and months. I think even last year I was having wins that I’m having this year, like, beating Top 20 players, but I just couldn’t find a way to repeat that over the weeks and in a full tournament.

“I think this year is just the fact that everything added up, all the work that I have done, because I felt like for a year now I have been playing pretty well, but I think this year I just kind of found my rhythm, I just found my beat, and I think I have been on the right track. I haven’t left sight of it. I think that’s how I explain my rapid rise this year.”

Felix is only 18, but he has accomplished plenty in 2019. The #NextGenATP star has made his first three ATP Tour finals, including one at the ATP 500 tournament in Rio de Janeiro in February. He also advanced to his first ATP Masters 1000 semi-final in Miami. There have been few if any signs that Auger-Aliassime is afraid of big moments.

“That’s what I work for. I think I kind of visualise myself — whenever I’m training, whenever I’m working in the gym — I’m visualising myself to be playing these type of matches and winning these type of matches,” Auger-Aliassime said. “So I think when the day comes, I feel prepared, I feel ready, and as well with the experience I have gained over this year and last year with different situations, playing finals now, so obviously that adds also a lot of things and a lot of positive things, because now I feel better. I handle these situations better and I stay more calm. That’s obviously been a big key mentally for me this year.”

Auger-Aliassime has won both of his FedEx ATP Head2Head meetings against Tsitsipas, last year’s Next Gen ATP Finals champion. The Canadian also triumphed in all three of their singles clashes in the juniors, leading Tsitsipas to say Friday that not only does he believe Felix will win Grand Slam titles, but, “I might never beat him”.

“It’s humbling. I appreciate that from him, especially coming from him, because he’s beaten these players and he’s been playing good against these top players,” Auger-Aliassime said. “I think for me that’s obviously the next challenge with winning, winning tournaments, is to beat players like Rafa, Novak, Zverev, or Nishikori. I think I have been playing well also on clay, but I haven’t found quite the way to beat these guys.”

Not only has Felix earned the respect of fellow players, but he has also impressed some of tennis’ legends. The teen met Boris Becker in Paris while he recovered from a groin injury that kept him out of Roland Garros.

“He just said that I have been doing good work, that he’s following me, and to keep on doing what I was doing and that good things would happen,” Auger-Aliassime remembered. “I think you have to really understand what he says. I think it’s important to know that it’s not something light. It’s something that I think the best players have done, trying to just take all the not important things outside and just focus on really what you have to do every day. I think that’s what made the difference for the top guys.”