THE CHAMPIONSHIPS

July 1, 2021

Felix Auger-Aliassime

Press Conference

F. AUGER-ALIASSIME/M. Ymer

6-4, 4-6, 7-6, 6-1

THE MODERATOR: Questions, please.

Q. Happy Canada Day. Any extra meaning getting the win on this special day for your country? What worked well for you and what would you have liked to have done better?

FELIX AUGER-ALIASSIME: Yeah, I mean, it was fun. The crowd was good. I saw a few Canadian flags. That's always good to see. Canada Day always falls during Wimbledon. The last two times I've gotten a win on that day, so hopefully it will bring me luck over the rest of my career.

No, today is definitely a good one to win. Mikael impressed me a lot. He was honestly playing really good from the start. I just felt like I had to earn every point. I served well again, so that got me to win my service games sometimes easier.

He was solid and running well, putting a lot of balls back. It was really tricky. Of course I can have a little bit of regret not making that return set point up in the second set. But I didn't have, like, a big chance. Then I played a poor game after. That's it.

But one set all, I thought it was fair. I played a great tiebreak, kept on going for the fourth set. No, I'm really happy I got through this one.

Q. How would you describe Nick Kyrgios as a player and as a person in the sport?

FELIX AUGER-ALIASSIME: No, he's good. He's an amazing player. We played, yeah, in Queen's two years ago. Almost tiebreaks every set. He has everything that a player needs to play well, especially on grass. He serves amazing. It's going to be a tough match for me.

Nick is a great player, a great entertainer. I think he's good for tennis. He seems focused and playing well the last few matches.

Q. Looked like at one point Ymer slipped and fell. Looked bad for a while. Was it slippery out there and did that change the tempo of the game?

FELIX AUGER-ALIASSIME: Yes, it was slippery. Perhaps I should have taken out the skates at the end because it was crazy slippery to be honest (laughter).

But, yeah, it was a bit unfortunate for him. At the same time I thought at first he got really hurt bad, but then it seemed it was okay at the end. That was in the second set, if I recall. He was playing normal throughout the whole third set and fourth set.

I had to kind of stay prudent and careful, maintain my focus. I had to, yeah, just stay calm. But it was really slippery, especially in the fourth set. In the fourth set it got a bit dark and humid. It was super slippery. I had to be careful.

Q. Aside from you playing a notable grass court player in your next match, Denis is also up against two-time Wimbledon champion Andy Murray. What is your assessment of that matchup?

FELIX AUGER-ALIASSIME: I think it's always tough to play Andy. He's not going to give him anything easy. At the same time I think, of course, Denis is better ranked at the moment. I think on paper he's almost the favorite. That doesn't mean much. When you step on Centre Court against Andy Murray in front of a packed crowd, a lot goes into that.

I think if Denis can be aggressive like he can do it, be dominant behind the serve, I think he's going to give himself a lot of good chances. I believe he can win that match. But all the matches are tough at this point. We're in the third round now. There's 32 players left. It's never easy.