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THE CHAMPIONSHIPS

July 1, 2019

Felix Auger-Aliassime

Wimbledon, London, England

F. AUGER-ALIASSIME/V. Pospisil

5-7, 6-2, 6-4, 6-3

THE MODERATOR: Questions, please.

Q. Even though you're so young, did it feel like a long time coming to get your first slam win? How does it feel?
FELIX AUGER-ALIASSIME: It didn't feel like a long time (smiling). I think people have to relax. Like, I mean, I'm 18. It's not like it's been a long time. I played main draw US Open. Had to withdraw. Had to withdraw French Open, lost in quallies Aussie. For me it's not a long time.

Obviously it's great, it's a relief just for any player to get his first Grand Slam win is a big relief, and it's a good achievement for me. At the same time with the level I'm playing now and my ambitions, I look forward and I look to go even further than that, yeah.

Q. How nervous were you in the match? Looked like you were a little bit tight at times.
FELIX AUGER-ALIASSIME: Yeah, for sure. I don't know if you looked at the scores, you see Zverev down 2 sets to 1, Tsitsipas is down 2 sets to 1.

I think it's normal for a lot of players. First matches in any tournaments are tough. I think they're even tougher in Grand Slams. On grass things can go fast if you don't serve well, return well.

I think the thing for me was just to accept it, Okay, here's the thing, I'm maybe nervous, not serving as well as I would like, and to accept it and find ways to deal with that, yeah.

Q. Bookies before the tournament picked that you were the sixth favorite to win this event and you hadn't won a Grand Slam match. How do you process that?
FELIX AUGER-ALIASSIME: I think that was a bit exaggerated, from my opinion. Sometimes I can understand the excitement. I think people, it would be a nice story, like, to write about or it would be a cool story. At the same time, that's never something I thought of.

I think the first thing was just to get my first win. And then obviously I'm not saying I'm here to lose, but if I can go all the way, I'll go all the way. But it's a bit exaggerated to put me as maybe a fifth or sixth favorite to win the title. I think that's a bit crazy, yeah.

Q. Did Vasek play a little better than you thought, considering he hasn't played for seven and a half months?
FELIX AUGER-ALIASSIME: I could sense -- I think what saved him, he was serving really well. I think any time he had to serve well he did. Even the third or fourth set where I was kind of finding more my rhythm and I was returning well, I think every time he was putting a lot of first serves, finding his targets. I think that's something, you know, even though coming back from injury that's something he kept.

I could sense that maybe he wasn't moving at his best. I think, you know, he knows that he's aware of that. It's tough, you know, for any player to come back from injury and to move well right away. Obviously he called a medical timeout twice, I think. Obviously he can sense that he's not at his peak physically.

But I think with all of this happening I think he still played well, yeah.

Q. Do you feel like there was a lot of expectations on your shoulders? We talked about fifth or sixth favorite. Such a young guy. Are you aware of that? Do you enjoy the pressure of the hype and being talked about?
FELIX AUGER-ALIASSIME: Yeah, I think sometimes people exaggerate -- I mean, I'm already going faster than the majority and they want me to go even faster which I think is not sometimes realistic. So I try not to focus really on that.

I think I'm pretty, you know, exigent with myself already so I don't try to put an extra pressure. But also, I think you have to accept and the fact that sometimes you know you're going to be seeded and more tournaments now and sometimes you'll be favorites, like, matches today and maybe the next match. So I think you have to accept that and deal with the fact that now I might be favorite, in some matches.

Q. Going back to the start of the year where you played, qualified in India, what do you see from that particular tournament? Anything that you gained from there? Anything that kick-started it for you, the whole season?
FELIX AUGER-ALIASSIME: I mean, I qualified. It was normal, nothing particular. And then I played Karlovic. That was a good experience going forward, you know, to play a big server like him. I think it was one of the first times, he played Milos before, but him was very particular. It was something completely different. You feel so much pressure because you're not allowed to have mistakes.

I think it happened to be in India, but playing Karlovic was a good lesson for me going forward.

Q. What's your thought, like, your first thought when you see Vasek's name pop up in the draw? In general, do you enjoy playing guys like Denis and Vasek or avoid it?
FELIX AUGER-ALIASSIME: Yeah, every time I'm so surprised because the odds are so low. We practice together and we were, like, What are the chances we play? When I was actually hitting, rallying and my coach behind told me you're playing Vasek. I was, like, You're joking; right? He said, No, I don't joke with you.

That was kind of my reaction. But at the end, like I told him at the end of the match, it's good to see him back, because I really like him. He's a great guy.

So I like just to see him around. I think it's better to play these guys than guys that you might not like, yeah.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

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