"Indoor courts have always been my favorite," states Auger-Aliassime after his victory against Zverev
Félix Auger-Aliassime defeated Alexander Zverev in two sets this Friday evening and secured the final ticket to the semifinals of the ATP Finals in Turin.
Auger-Aliassime achieved a nice double feat in recent hours at the Masters. The 25-year-old Canadian indeed managed to qualify for the final four after a win against Zverev (6-4, 7-6), and also secures a spot in the ATP top 5 (barring a win by Alex de Minaur against Jannik Sinner in the semifinals this Saturday) for the first time in his career.
The player, who will face Carlos Alcaraz this Saturday evening for a spot in the Masters tournament final, shared his initial impressions in a press conference after successfully eliminating the German.
"In a match like this, you know there will be a lot of ups and downs. In the end, what's important is that my intentions to win the match brought me closer to victory. It wasn't perfect tennis, but it was enough.
These two achievements, the semifinals and the world number 5 ranking, are fantastic. When you reach a level you've never reached before, both in terms of results and ranking, you always draw positive conclusions from it. This is my first semifinal in this tournament. Before, I was world number 6, now I'm number 5, moving up another notch isn't so bad.
I think my ability to bounce back and my resilience are qualities I've developed over the years. I've had some success in my career, but also difficult moments. The last few years haven't been easy. These moments have allowed me to build my character.
I am better today. These decisions, like the one not to play in Metz, are based on a stronger conviction to do what is good for me, without comparing myself to others, without looking at what others are doing. If I do that, I believe I will be rewarded, maybe not immediately, but in the future.
I am happy that my decision was the right one and that I was able to reach the semifinals here. 85 indoor wins since 2020? That is largely explained by the fact that I spent half of my seasons training indoors. I made long trips outside of Canada to play tournaments in Italy or France, but I played a lot indoors.
My playing style has leaned towards serving, aggression, taking risks, and if you sometimes play in windy or different conditions, those risks don't pay off. As a professional, I then improved in all areas, but indoor courts have always been my favorite," thus elaborated Auger-Aliassime for Punto de Break.
Zverev, Alexander
Auger-Aliassime, Felix
Turin
I really hope Felix grows even more next year and takes over the domination from the other two clowns.