TORONTO — After a tough year that saw Félix Auger-Aliassime bow out of Wimbeldon in a first round loss Michael Mmoh, the 22-year-old Canadian from Montreal is ready to turn his season around.
Auger-Aliassime, who is currently ranked 12 by the ATP, has a 13-12 record on the year, a season that has been plagued with injuries.
He feels like he is the healthiest he has been all season.
“I was dealing with injuries,” said Auger-Aliassime at a press conference on Saturday before the start of the National Bank Open here. “I’m feeling good. I had a tough loss last week but I’ve been practicing well … hopefully I can use this week to turn around my season,”
Being the highest ranking Canadian in the annual tournament, Auger-Aliassime hopes that being back in Canada will provide a spark in his performance.
“It’s good memories … to be in a familiar place and hopefully I can play some good tennis in front of the home fans, it’s nice.
“I feel like whenever I play with a crowd that supports me or whenever I play for Team Canada … I feel like I perform well. I like playing under these conditions. I think this is all positive for me.”
Auger-Aliassime drew qualifier Max Purcell, who beat Canadians Peter Polansky and Brayden Schnur over the weekend to qualify.
The two will faceoff on Tuesday at Sobey’s Stadium.