Don’t panic, there are still top seeds with title options in the Montreal ATP Masters 1000. For example, Félix Auger-Aliassime, which starts as the sixth favorite to win. At the moment, the Canadian yesterday surpassed his first touchstone with Yoshihito Nishioka, whom he defeated 7-6, 6-4. A tight match that the local tennis player had to fight to the end to now meet Cameron Norrie in the round of 16. Of course, for Felix this week does not mean the same as for the rest. They are the emotions of playing at home, which he explained perfectly in his last press conference.
Debut ante Nishioka
“I was nervous at the beginning of the match, although I served very well in the first game, I felt like I was in control. Then I had the right ideas, the right mindset, the right tactics. However, my execution was not good in the first set, I was not regular with the serve, there was a lot of tension. But it’s normal against an opponent like Nishioka. Then in the second set I couldn’t take advantage of all the break points, I had a lot of opportunities, I didn’t know how to play them well. I am happy that I kept my cool and held my serve to finish the match in two sets.”
Norrie in the round of 16
“I face the match with confidence, with optimism, with a positive state of mind. We both have a story, but it’s already in the past, there’s no need to think too much about our last game before tomorrow’s game. I’m going to go out there believing that I can win, even if I lost last week to him, I think it’s good to have faced him recently. Some things went well, so I’ll try to reproduce them as much as possible, hopefully the result will be better than Los Cabos.”
play at home
“It is very difficult to prepare for that feeling. This morning I did wake up well, I felt rested, I spoke calmly with my family and with my team. My warm-up was great too, everything seemed normal but once you head onto the court everything changes. After going through the locker room tunnel you start to feel those vibrations, it’s an emotion that I don’t feel anywhere else, I smelled the butterflies. I think anyone can feel them too.”
Hit of some heads of series
“You should never listen to everything that is being said out there, you should always look ahead and focus on your daily work. A tennis player must keep calm to win every point he plays for himself, he has to win every match he plays and start again the next day. None of this is easy, here we have an opportunity, like every week on the calendar, there are simply times when the chart opens up a little more. Before the tournament, my only goal was to be able to play better and better in matches.”
Prepared to give the maximum
“Right now I feel good, today I had a very tough duel physically, but after all these years I am used to recovering in time for the next game. My opponent’s setup today has nothing to do with tomorrow’s, but I’ll be ready. This is a tournament where I am willing and ready to give unlimited effort, I always want to put out my best tennis in front of the Canadian public. I feel how much they support me, so I want to give them the best performance possible.”
