Auger-Aliassime returns to Montreal for the first time in three years due to the pandemic.
Article Author:
Pat Hickey • Montreal Gazette
Expectations are high for Felix Auger-Aliassime at the Nationals this year Banks open, but he's embracing the role of his hometown favorite.
"This is the position I want to be in," said the Montrealer, who took time out to speak to the media on Sunday on his 22nd birthday. “You gradually get to who I am today.
Due to the pandemic, Auger-Aliassime returns to Montreal for the first time in three years as he returns to No. 9 in the ATP Tour rankings and is the sixth seed in the Masters 1000 event.
I am another player, another young man,” said Auger-Aliassime. "I feel more calm and prepared as this tournament approaches. I hope to see my results.
} Performing well in front of local fans is important, but he said he doesn't look too far ahead, but the event will lead to the US Open in New York later this month. It will provide valuable points in the ATP race that will determine the eight players who will qualify for the ATP Finals in Turin on 2019.
Auger-Aliassime is eighth with 2,655 points. However, he is only 370 points behind fifth-placed Daniil Medvedev.
Auger-Aliassime may face a tough fight in Wednesday's second after getting a bye in the first round. will face the winner of a match between qualifier Benoît Paire of France and Japan's Yoshihito Nishioka, who was defeated by Nick Kyrgios in the final of the City Open in Washington on Sunday.
Another Canadian with high hopes, Dennis Shapovalov of Richmond Hill, Ontario, won't have to wait too long for his first match, as he kicks off the evening session at IGA Stadium on Monday, where Australia's
The two couldn't be more evenly matched, with De Minaur ranked 21st and Shapovalov ranked 22nd.
}Shapovalov was a top 10 player, but after reaching the semi-finals at Wimbledon 2021, his ranking plummeted as he lost points. In the last three months, he has only won once since reaching the quarter-finals in Rome in May, with a record of 1-7.
} "I'm happy with how I'm playing, but I haven't won a game," Shapovalov said on Sunday. "It happens in tennis."
Shapovalov's most recent loss was to Wolf of America in the first round of the J.J. City Open.
"I played well in a long three-set match, but I also played J.J. well," Shapovalov said.
Shapovalov has been plagued with an adductor muscle injury at Wimbledon, but said he didn't expect it to be a problem this week.
81} Gabriel Diallo from Montreal retired in the second round of qualifying, losing 6-2, 2-1 to Hugo. French Gaston. Diallo, his 20-year-old from the University of Kentucky, beat Australia's James his Duckworth in Saturday's first-round qualifying match.
In addition to Gaston, fellow Frenchmen Paire, Adrian Manarino and Arthur Lindarkneck, US Marcos Giron, Italy's Fabio Fognini and Great Britain's Jacques Draper joined him in the main draw.
phickey@postmedia.com
twitter.com/zababes1
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Montreal's Gabriel Diallo overpowers Duckworth at the National Bank Open
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Local Star Auger-Aliassime Wins Favorable Draw at National Bank Open
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