"He didn't give me a secret" - Auger-Aliassime on Uncle Toni's tips against Rafa
ATP
Felix Auger-Aliassime has insisted that his coach - Nadal's former coach Uncle Toni - did not share insider information on how to defeat the Spaniard ahead of their Round Robin encounter at the ATP Finals yesterday.
Auger-Aliassime won the match in straight sets, a disappointing match during which Nadal looked well off-par and out of sorts.
Nevertheless, the young Canadian put in a superb performance full of aggression and closed out his first ever win against the 22-time Grand Slam champion.
Speaking to press after the match, Auger-Aliassime was asked whether the victory was down to any inside information that Uncle Toni shared with Felix.
"We talk about the things I need to do for myself, at the end of the day he doesn't give me [tips]- him or Fred [Frederic Fontang]. I know Rafa. I've seen him play. I've watched him play. I've played him before. If I play him or play Djokovic or even players that I've known for a long time, Fred, my coach, gives me the stats of previous matches, what has been working, what hasn't been working, so I can have a little bit of a clear idea", Felix Auger-Aliassime said.
"Outside of that he [Toni Nadal] didn't give me a secret that nobody knows (smiling). That's it, so, nothing really special. More just for me to try to give my best effort, to feel like I did everything I could when I step out of the court, win or lose. That's the most important for him and for us on the team", he added.
The four-time ATP titlist went on to say that the real difference on the day was belief.
"When you're about to step on the court against a guy like him, you never know. You think, What if he plays amazing today, just too good for me, or I'm not playing my best, things aren't working for me. There's always an uncertainty. But when the match started going, we were on serve in the first set, I was like, Look, I have a real chance of winning this. I felt like I was doing good things, I was comfortable in certain situations. I definitely believed that I could win".
