AUSTRALIAN OPEN

February 14, 2021

Felix Auger-Aliassime

Press Conference

A. KARATSEV/F. Auger-Aliassime

3-6, 1-6, 6-3, 6-3, 6-4

THE MODERATOR: Questions, please.

Q. Bad luck on today's result. Can you just run through the match for us from your perspective today?

FELIX AUGER-ALIASSIME: Could I have played better? Clearly I could have done better, especially after leading two sets to love. I have to see the match again, but there was maybe opportunities to stay in there, to at least get to tiebreak maybe or give myself a chance. But to be honest a lot of credit is to him, he played well, he raised his level after the second set and mentally he started serving really well, doing everything really good.

On my part, I started serving not as good, not hitting my targets and things got a bit tough from that point on, but I fought, I tried everything until the end, but, yeah, at some points it was just too good from him.

Q. I know the match just ended, but I was just wondering like your thoughts on the tournament as a whole?

FELIX AUGER-ALIASSIME: Yeah, the first two tournaments of the year it was good. Won three matches here, lost a tight one today. That's for sure lots of positives to take from that tournament. It's shame, it's really a shame that I couldn't get through today. It's difficult to swallow, but it's tennis, that's how it is, life, and honestly it can only help me in the future. It's the first time I played five sets, first time this happens to me, maybe not the last one, we'll see, but I'll just try to learn from that and be better next time.

Q. You talked a little bit about the differences between the first two sets and the, and especially sets three and four, what was kind of going through your mind heading into that fifth set and looking back at just maybe that fifth, what was going on, what would you change moving forward, this is also your first time playing a five-setter.

FELIX AUGER-ALIASSIME: Yeah, it's tough to know now honestly, what would I have changed. I didn't give up ever, I tried everything, so what can you say? He played good, of course I wish I could have served better, but I can't just snap my fingers and it just happens. So I just got to be a better player overall to overcome these situations. I think the positive thing is mentally I stayed positive, I stayed positive, I believed until the end and even when I was down in the fifth set I still tried, I still believed.

So, yeah, I don't know what more I can ask in the moment, just to recover now, try to see what I can improve from now on to find a way to win these matches.

Q. You were talking about how were you believing until the end. Is that almost a positive in itself that you didn't sort of let it go, it wasn't like it wasn't tight at the end, if that makes any sense.

FELIX AUGER-ALIASSIME: Sorry, repeat the question.

Q. So you were talking about how you still had your belief until the end. Is that a positive in itself, because it would have been very easy after losing the third and fourth sets to maybe not believe, if that makes sense.

FELIX AUGER-ALIASSIME: I see what you mean. Look, I think compared to the player I was let's say in 2019 or even last year, I think that was an improvement against a player that as we all saw played a great match, is playing a good level. Mentally I tried to stay in there, to believe, like you said, and I think it's positive for the future. So these type of matches today didn't go my way, in the future it might and these are key matches to go further in Grand Slams.

Unluckily today, yeah, it didn't go my way but I think there's for sure positives to take from the way I handled myself.

Q. Same way after you played Danny Evans last week, you were able to sort of turn the corner. How are you able to sort of turn the corner so well and put these behind you?

FELIX AUGER-ALIASSIME: Well now I need a bit of time. Last week I just didn't have a choice, really, if I wanted to go ahead and get through my first round. So I had to bounce back really quick.

Now I've got a bit of time until the next tournament, so I need to recover physically, it's been a long stretch here in Australia, it's been a tough stretch. To recover physically, mentally and get back to training. But nothing crazy.