Felix Auger-Aliassime suffered another defeat at the hands of Jannik Sinner after playing his first ATP Finals match.
Auger-Aliassime is playing the ATP Finals for the first time in three years, after enjoying an impressive second half to the season.
However there were some concerns about the Canadian coming into the tournament, but Auger-Aliassime provided a positive physical update ahead of his first match.
These concerns arose once again during his first match against Sinner, but Auger-Aliassime was full of praise for the Italian.
Felix Auger-Aliassime suggests if Jannik Sinner is the best server and returner
Auger-Aliassime was beaten by Sinner, 7-5 6-1, in a match where he was clearly hampered by a left calf issue that appeared to arise in the latter stages of the first set.
This is the fourth time he has lost to the Wimbledon champion in the past four months, with Sinner beating Auger-Aliassime in the Paris Masters final, as well as at the US Open and Cincinnati Open.
When speaking in his post-match press conference after his latest encounter with the Italian, Auger-Aliassime was asked if he thinks Sinner is the best server and returner of all time.
Auger-Aliassime responded by suggesting that he would definitely say Sinner is the best in this category of the people he has competed against, also mentioning Roger Federer.
“That I’ve played, yeah,” answered Auger-Aliassime. “I’ve never played maybe like Roger in his prime. But yeah, I think for now, because the way you start a match, all right, go ahead, serve. But him, four first serves pretty much on the lines, serving I think like almost 80% first serves in the first set.
“Also returning, doesn’t really miss second-serve returns. He missed actually a few, which is rare. But yeah, probably the best combination.”
Felix Auger-Aliassime says if he has ever been afraid of playing someone
Auger-Aliassime has played some of the best players on the ATP Tour including Federer, Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic, Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz.
Despite originally leading the head-to-head against Sinner 2-0, Auger-Aliassime has now lost the last four matches against him.
Auger-Aliassime was then asked if he has ever felt afraid of playing someone before, but he responded by claiming that has never happened to him.
“Yeah, to your last sentence, I’ve never been because, I mean, we’re not going to war, you know? Let’s have some perspective,” said Auger-Aliassime. “Like, I do put in my mind that it’s a battle, a tennis battle. I’m very focused, very driven.
“Never been afraid of a tennis match. More focused that when you play at this level, everything needs to be very disciplined and very precise from the first moments.
“I’ve been playing him a few times this year, so I knew what to expect. Yeah, it’s more like when you play this top level, you have to be extremely good. That’s it.”
Auger-Aliassime will now look to recover not only physically but also mentally, as he looks to recover from his defeat to Sinner.
The 25-year-old will look to keep his ATP Finals hopes alive when he takes on American Ben Shelton in his second round-robin match.
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