Madrid (Spain) – Just like champion Andrey Rublev, who revealed that he had played sick throughout the competition, Canadian Félix Auger-Aliassime also admitted that he suffered from stomach problems in recent days and during this Sunday’s final at the Masters 1000 in Madrid. He even believed that he would not be able to continue in the tournament.
“It was a strange week. I also had stomach problems in the middle of the tournament. In the third round I wasn’t sure if I could play until the end, and [Jakub] Mensik simply gave up. Strange, I don’t know. Rublev is also sick. I was lucky not to play in the quarter-finals and semi-finals, and I still had cramps today. I think it’s something physical, it hasn’t happened to me many times in my career. I think my body was tired from fighting the virus all week”, explained the runner-up of the tournament.
The Canadian also commented on the medical attention he requested in the final stretch of the match, when he appeared to have a muscle problem in his legs. “Since the beginning of the third set I have felt cramps in both legs. Since then, I tried to hold my serve, but I thought too much. I tried to control, stay there, but then I made two double faults and a few more mistakes. We had a 30-shot exchange, I think. I also double-faulted because of that long point in the third set. He deserves to win, he deserved it today,” he said, giving credit to his opponent.
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Technical part left something to be desired
If, on the one hand, physical problems did not serve as an excuse, on the other hand, the Canadian blamed some flaws in his own technical performance. “Overall, I served well and did the best I could from the baseline. I feel like there are games where I do better, but today I wasn’t as precise as on other occasions. I pressed him, but I didn’t have to. The fact that I didn’t have this tool made the difference, in addition to the crossed backhands that didn’t work for me today either. All I had was my serve, which kept me alive throughout the match,” he assessed.
Confidence for Roma and the sequence of the season
Despite the setbacks, Aliassime leaves Madrid with his head held high and more confident about the quality of his game. “In many moments I showed a good level. It was a strange week due to the withdrawals, but I face next week with the same confidence with which I came to Madrid, feeling that I can play well. Rome is a tournament that I have good memories of and I will try to continue without too much pressure or expectations that I need to be perfect. I’m just going to enjoy and learn from my mistakes”, highlighted the 23-year-old player.
