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Felix Auger-Aliassime Davis Cup 2019
ATP Tennis Players, Tennis News

‘It was like nothing I’d ever felt before,’ says Felix Auger-Aliassime reflecting on 2019 Davis Cup final


Felix Auger-Aliassime has talked about what it was like to compete in the Davis Cup final as a 19-year-old.

Felix Auger-Aliassime found the feeling of battling in the final of the Davis Cup in 2019 as something he had never experienced before.

“It was quite special,” FAA said in an interview with Davis Cup Finals. “First of all we were a great group of teammates, friends,” he added.

“I get along well with all of my teammates and the captain, so that’s a big advantage and we had great chemistry… And then I had the chance to play the final against Spain, it was one of my best memories on court as a player.”

The 2019 edition was the first in a new format for the Davis Cup, where the World Group took place at one location (Madrid, Spain) and in one week. Canada beat Australia and Russia in the knockout stage of the tournament to face Spain in the final, with the hosts having beaten Argentina and Great Britain in the knockouts.

“I’d never heard a crowd like this,” Auger-Aliassime added. “The atmosphere was something I’d never felt before.

“You feel the ground shaking, you have goosebumps on your body when the anthem is going on, everybody was chanting and when the Spain team arrived it was something I’d never felt before.

“Obviously you feel the stress, the tension, the expectations on that day. And I just felt from the first balls that Roberto was not going to give up anything.”

 

FAA faced Roberto Bautista Agut in the first rubber of the final, losing 6-7 3-6. However, the young Canadian looks back on the match with pride.

“I did a good job, I was playing good for my first match of the tournament,” he said.

“But you felt that there was something special around him, around the whole thing and the emotion involved and you really felt that any time he needed to he went into an extra gear and to really give himself a chance to win that match.”

Rafael Nadal went on to win the second match over Denis Shapovalov to secure the title for Spain. On the subject of how the team felt as a whole, the world No. 22 had this to say:

“We were very proud, standing on the podium with a team like Spain.

“For sure it was tough to accept, I think the whole team was a bit down. In the locker room after the match we wanted to regroup and leave, think about the future.

But at the same time [we wanted to] take the time to appreciate what we did that week, stand proudly on the podium, stand tall because, you know, it’s only the beginning for our team because we have a very young team, a promising team.”

Felix Auger-Aliassime will take to the court at the Monte Carlo Masters next week with none other than Toni Nadal, Rafael Nadal’s uncle, joining the young Canadian’s coaching team. Read about how the pair are looking to start their partnership here and here.

Otherwise, you can read more about how Felix Auger-Aliassime feels about his Canadian teammates here.


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