Auger-Aliassime: “Jannik and Carlos are not my idols, that will help me challenge them”
The Canadian explains how these last two difficult years have influenced his career and why he believes he can be a real alternative to Sinner and Alcaraz.
It seems unbelievable that Félix Auger-Aliassime has been criticized by some fans for his perceived stagnation, when he is only 24 years old and shows undeniable signs of progress from time to time. Formerly ranked 6th in the world, he is now ready to put into practice all the lessons he has learned during two years of setbacks and without the shadow of the Big 3 in competition.
Identified from a young age as the next big star in world tennis, Félix Auger-Aliassime has not emerged as the early dominant talent that was expected when he was winning Challenger tournaments at just 16 years old. However, there are many ways to achieve glory and objectives. At only 24 years old, with a wealth of experiences as a tennis player, the Canadian reflects in Arab News on how he sees his career in the near future.
“These past two seasons have been interesting. Naturally, I would have loved to continue on an upward trend, with significant results in major tournaments. But I also feel that everything I have experienced in these years has allowed me to learn very important lessons, both for my personal life and my professional career,” says a man who once lost nine finals before claiming his first title but now boasts a record of seven wins in the last eight finals played.
– Auger-Aliassime believes that the years of poor results have helped him improve as a tennis player and as a person.
Injuries have also hindered a player with room for improvement who has seen his tennis plateau somewhat. Nevertheless, having experienced reaching Grand Slam semifinals and the ATP Finals gives the Canadian the necessary confidence to believe that now, much more mature, he can take a significant leap in quality. His start to the season is more than promising, with two titles and an impressive performance in Doha, where he reached the semifinals.
This is what leads many to believe that the best is yet to come for Félix Auger-Aliassime and that this tennis resurgence will be the beginning of a process aimed at elevating the Canadian to glory. It explains the challenges ahead and how different it will be for him to rise as an alternative to the established powerhouses of Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz. “None of them are my childhood idols, but my direct rivals, my competitors. They are good guys, and their rivalry is positive for tennis, but it will be different to try to break their dominance than that of the Big 3, because Rafa, Roger, and Novak were my greatest childhood inspirations,” commented a man who eagerly seeks to secure his first major title.
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Felix Auger-Aliassime admits how he feels about Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner on tour compared to Novak Djokovic
Felix Auger-Aliassime shares his views on playing in two different eras of tennis.
The Canadian made his main draw debut on the ATP tour in 2018, a year Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic shared the Grand Slams between them.
Seven years later, two members of that iconic trio are now retired and the other is now ranked at number seven.
Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner are the young players at the forefront of the men’s game and Auger-Aliassime has seen that transition take place.
Felix Auger-Aliassime is one of a small group of players on tour who had the opportunity to play Federer, Nadal and Djokovic, and now Sinner and Alcaraz.
The young Spaniard and current World number one have five Grand Slam titles between them and they are the players at the forefront of the new era of tennis.
In a conversation with Arab News, Auger-Aliassime shared how he feels about having played against three of the greatest of all time, and the difference playing against his younger rivals in Sinner and Alcaraz.
“It’s different. Rafa, Roger, Novak were idols of mine growing up. These guys, I have a ton of respect for them and they’re unbelievable players, but they’re not my idols in a way,” he said.
“They’re my rivals, my competitors, and they’re good guys too. So it’s good for the sport. That being said, I feel like obviously 18, 19, 20, I was in that group. You know, 22, six in the world and then had some difficulties.
“But it’s been interesting. It’s been interesting. I would have loved to keep on climbing the rankings, keep winning big tournaments.
“But I feel like as a person, these last two years taught me a lot, gave me a lot of important lessons that hopefully are going to serve me now in this next part of my career and in my future life as well.”
Auger-Aliassime played a combined six matches against Nadal, Federer and Djokovic.
He won his only match against Federer in Halle back in 2021, and after Djokovic beat in Rome in 2022, the Canadian earned his first win over the Olympic champion later that year at the Laver Cup.
Auger-Aliassime lost to Nadal in Madrid in 2019, and is one of just three men to take him to five sets at the French Open, before he was beaten 3-6 6-3 6-2 3-6 6-3. The World number 21 won their last meeting at the ATP Finals.
He has not played Sinner since 2022, and claimed both their meetings that year, but he has played Alcaraz on seven occasions.
Auger-Aliassime won their first three meetings, but Alcaraz has won the last four, including three matches in 2024.
