Felix Auger-Aliassime is having the finest ATP Tour season of his career. And the Canadian coach Toni Nadal attributes it to his ambition to go better. The 22-year-old began the 2022 season without any singles titles under his belt after losing eight straight finals. And the final one in June 2021, with the first one arriving in February 2019.
But in February, he eventually won his first match after defeating Stefanos Tsitsipas. Before losing the tenth final in the Open 13 in Marseille, in the Rotterdam Open final. However, he has now gone on an incredible run, helping Team World win the Laver Cup ever.
Winning the Firenze Open, European Open, and Swiss Indoors in a row in October after defeating Novak Djokovic along the way. He defeated Carlos Alcaraz, the world No. 1, at the Swiss Indoors. his second triumph over Spaniard in as many weeks after defeating him in the Davis Cup Finals playoffs in September. And Holger Rune, the other Tour player in good form.
Rafael’s uncle and former coach, Nadal, is a 22-time Grand Slam champion. Began working with Auger-Aliassime the previous year, and he has emphasized the cause of the improvement.
“He has gained peace of mind and has more control of the ball,”
On the official ATP Tour website, the Spaniard is quoted as saying.
“Before, he had very good shots, but his tennis was slightly out of control. He was capable of playing well, and he hit great shots, but now it’s stabilized.
You know that he will hang in there until the end if there is the slightest chance – Rafael’s uncle and former coach
“Sunday, for example, he lost, but he didn’t play terribly. This is what all the world’s best players do. His level has increased.”
The Canadian is presently ranked No. 6 in the ATP Rankings, which is a career-high, and Nadal thinks one of the factors contributing to his ascent is his improved backhand.
“We have a good relationship,”
He clarified.
“I’m not with him all the time; I’m a consultant and I give my opinion. I like things to be clear cut and I’m used to saying things straight. “He’s a very good person, very polite. In Barcelona, he played pretty badly and I spoke to him right afterward and when he’d finished he thanked me.
I told him in New York that with that backhand, he has no chance of cracking the Top 5 players. Since then, he has had some very good months, beating Alcaraz, Djokovic, [Holger] Rune.”
Uncle Toni thinks Auger-Aliassime can learn from tennis great Nadal and Djokovic even though he obviously has room for improvement.
“It’s not a question of dedication — it’s a question of the desire to improve,”
he stated.
“The main thing is wanting to change what you’re doing wrong. “I spoke to him and asked him: ‘What’s the difference between Nadal and Djokovic [and the rest]?’ They win when they play badly. That’s a big difference. Things don’t always go well.
“You have to be alert when they’re not doing well. Djokovic was losing [by two sets] to [Jannik] Sinner at Wimbledon. I told my children that he wasn’t out yet. You know that he will hang in there until the end if there is the slightest chance. Sometimes, the rest don’t have that.”
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