Felix Auger-Aliassime is looking to Novak Djokovic and others as he tries to replicate some of the things the Serbian did in his career.
Taking Novak Djokovic as a tennis role model is a really good idea because his career has been fascinating. He was never the most talented or the one most likely to succeed, but he did through a combination of relentless work and tremendous belief in himself.
The Serbian emerged as a talented player with a good backhand and an excellent return. Over time, he improved dramatically in many areas, such as the serve and the forehand, and became the strongest player mentally on Tour.
It didn't happen overnight, but it happened gradually as he keeps improving even now, over a decade into his career. That's just inspiring to Auger-Aliassime, who mentioned Djokovic on a Match Point Tennis Podcast appearance where he talked about the manner in which Djokovic essentially molded himself into a player with no weaknesses.
"If you look at Djokovic, for me he really doesn't have weaknesses in his game. When you look at him, what are you going to play. And his serve has improved so much through his career that it's also a big weapon now. So he has that and then mentally and physically, he has all the qualities."
He improved his physical and mental side as Auger-Aliassime deems only Rafael Nadal close to Djokovic in that department. And he wasn't born with it, per his own admission.
He worked and still keeps working towards it. He even admitted that he's still nervous before every match. That dedication is what Auger-Aliassime wants to take inspiration from.
"Like physically he's an unbeliavable athlete, covers the court so well. But then mentally, he's also, I can put Nadal in that same conversation. The level of focus they bring every match, every practice, the level of precision and they're so demanding with themselves. I look to do that also in my career and I take a lot of inspiration from that."
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