SPECIAL COOPERATION
Yes, we can understand that Félix Auger Aliassime says he is relieved and liberated to finally have a first title in his pocket on the big ATP track. This week in Rotterdam, every game had a different flavor and I really liked the way it weaved its web into the title. To gain momentum in a tournament, the most difficult thing is to set up your game at the beginning of the tournament. Just think of Denis Shapovalov, who faced the great talent of 20-year-old Jiri Lehecka in the beginning, even if the Czech did not have top-level experience. What he does make me think of Shapo in 2017 in Montreal as he stops in the semifinals like Lehecka in Rotterdam this week.
In this circuit, even as a member of the big elite, you can not afford to drag your feet at the beginning of the tournament, because you will not pass a round. This is exactly what impresses me about Félix this week, when he finds it very difficult to underestimate Igor Gerasimov from the beginning, but mentally he remains strong, which leads him to find solutions and make the right choices to reverse a bad situation. .
The same happens at halftime against a tough player who had never beaten in 2 matches, Andrei Rublev. Can you imagine how much mental work you have to do at any given time to stay strong after losing 7 break points, 4 of which are first sets? It would be so understandable and normal for him to take his penalty in the second set. But no, not this new improved version of our Félix. He remains hungry and only at 4-4, 2nd set takes control of the match. What abstinence and faith in the depths of his existence to continue working as if everything was fine, as if he was the one who had won the first set. It’s so hard to do it especially against a player who makes you suffer by walking left / right at breakneck speed.
I was really looking forward to seeing how Félix would feel physically today in the final. We do not need to remember how difficult it has been for him so far to play his best tennis in the final round in the 8 finals he lost. With his strength, his speed, his first serve on fire and his growing experience in big games now, all I hoped for, against Stefanos Tsitsipas who still beat him in the last 5 matches between the two, is that Felix plays at the height of his talent. What does he achieve, after all, while the Greek finds it very difficult to watch the parade, so much so that the FAA pounded him with his strong points.
Well, it’s done now. No more carrying this piano on your shoulders. Another step is taken and this inevitably pushes it even higher, you know where the air is thin. He is serious on and off the field. He trains hard as his team wraps him in good care. What is nice is that everyone is working in the right direction, with humility and honesty, while having medium and long term goals in mind. For me, as obvious as it was in 2019 that Bianca Andreescu would be Grand Slam champion, it is also obvious in Melbourne this year that Félix has everything he needs to win the biggest titles in the world of tennis … Well: let’s go! !!
