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The first at the beginning of the season and then nothing else: this is the new relationship between Félix Auger Aliassime and the ATP titles. In Rotterdam, the first trophy of his career and of the season, precursor to the next three: Florence, Antwerp and Basel, all on concrete on an indoor track.
Not just personal satisfaction: he was also the driving force behind Canada's Davis Cup victory at the end of November. A growth that occurred thanks to his two coaches, Frederic Fontang and Toni Nadal. In the microphones of TennisActu, the French coach spoke about the season of his pupil, going through two fundamental matches: the defeat against Rafael Nadal at Roland Garros, where he was winning by two sets; the victory against Carlos Alcaraz, number one in the world, in the Davis Cup, which was decisive for the round pass.
"50% of the reasons for that defeat were from Rafa, he is a champion and he won very good points at the end of the match. Felix, for his part, had break points with two sets to one. It's about managing these better opportunities", he said about the first, while about the second he said the following: "The most important victory was against Carlos Alcaraz in the Davis Cup, because the Spaniard had just won the US Open.
Beating number one is great for confidence. Felix needed a good win." Without a doubt, he will be one of the figures to watch for the next calendar after several consecutive individual titles and closing with the Davis Cup crown for his country.
Félix Auger Aliassime will seek to shine even more in 2023 after gaining enormous confidence thanks to games that confirmed to him that the work he has been doing with his team bears and will bear many fruits.
Alcaraz shone in 2022
Patrick Kuhnen, former 43rd in the world, consultant for Sky Sport in Germany but also director of the Munich tournament, kindly made predictions for 2023.
According to him, if Nadal, Djokovic will be there, he has a real fear about the current world number 1, Carlos Alcaraz. “The Spaniard starts the new season as world number one, and he will have to defend this status.
We can therefore think that there is a risk that this position could turn into a burden, especially at the mental level. Afterwards, he is well surrounded so this should allow him to take on this challenge with more confidence. Despite everything, it seems logical that he will have to face difficult passages in 2023."