Auger-Aliassime on his quarterfinal against Vacherot: "I'm going to play the man of the moment"
Between a resurgent Auger-Aliassime and an irresistible Vacherot, the duel promises to be exciting. Ahead of this quarterfinal in Paris, the Canadian acknowledged the Monegasque's brilliant form: "It's an interesting challenge. He never panics, he plays smart."
The first quarterfinal of the Rolex Paris Masters will pit Félix Auger-Aliassime against Valentin Vacherot. The Canadian, still in the running for the ATP Finals, will take on the biggest surprise of this late season on the men's tour.
Because Vacherot, riding the momentum from his title in Shanghai, is on a roll again at a Masters 1000, having beaten Cameron Norrie in two sets this Thursday (7-6, 6-4).
In a press conference, Auger-Aliassime spoke about this upcoming match. He notably discussed the Monegasque player's level of play (comments reported by L'Équipe):
"I'm going to play the man of the moment, the man who is full of confidence. It's an interesting challenge. We've known each other for a few years. We've trained together in Monaco. But I've never faced him on the tour. It's a challenge because he's beating a lot of good players.
He serves very well. He is very consistent on the backhand. He has a good balance between patience from the baseline where he doesn't panic, he stays in the rally, he is very good physically, and he also knows how to come forward when he needs to. There are quite a few good things."
Vacherot, Valentin
Auger-Aliassime, Felix
Paris