Felix Auger-Aliassime hasn't had things go smoothly so far in his career, but he's really proud of his ability to deal with that.
Ever since he showed up on the ATP Tour a few years ago, Auger-Aliasime has been considered a great talent. He showed it early in his career, but since then, it's been a very shaky journey.
At times, he looked incredible and was ranked inside the Top 10, and at other times, he dropped down to nearly out of the Top 50. The difference in level was just too huge, and it wasn't easy to deal with.
You don't forget tennis as an ATP player, but players go through periods of doubt where nothing seems to work. That's what happened to the Canadian a couple of times, and after finding himself in Madrid, he's proud of how he keeps fighting to improve.
"What I am most proud of is that I have maintained my passion for tennis during difficult times, I have learnt how to deal with frustration and continue wanting with all my might to be a great tennis player."
"It is great to see myself in this situation; life and tennis shoes smile at me again. Some of the best matches of my career have been on this surface and I have always felt that I have the potential to do well on clay."
Tennis is fun when you're winning a lot, but when things go the wrong way, it's hard to remain passionate about the sport, and many pros experienced that.
The fruits of that labor were seen this week at the 2024 Madrid Open because after a long time, Auger-Aliassime is back in a final, and he'll try to win the Madrid Open on Sunday against Andrey Rublev, in what would be his first ATP Masters 1000 title.