“Near-Perfect Balance of Being in the Present”: Felix Auger Aliassime on Toni Nadal’s Impact on His Mindset Ahead of the Citi Open 2021

Felix Auger-Aliassime has risen up the ranks in the past few months and caught everyone’s attention. While the Canadian national has made a name for himself, he is yet to win a big title. At the Citi Open, Felix can upset a few big guns and aim for a maiden title. As he prepares to embark on his quest for a title, Felix spoke highly of his coach, Toni Nadal, ahead of his first game in Washington.

Toni Nadal, Rafael Nadal’s uncle, started coaching Felix this year itself. The Canadian came under the spotlight after beating Roger Federer at the Halle Open in June.

Felix Auger Aliassime appreciate’s Toni Nadal’s winning mentality

Felix has been training hard since the beginning of the year and has displayed great performance. Even though he has not won anything substantial, his performances speak volumes of his potential to shine. However, a title at this stage of his career will promote him up the ranks and establish him as a strong force. With the guidance of Toni Nadal, Felix can definitely blow up amongst the higher ranked players.

“This mentality with Toni, this champion mentality that I call it, for us we’re trying to build this mentality where I’m in the present of being humble, not too worried about the future, not too frustrated about the past and I feel like that’s what we’ve been trying to do and that’s the vision to be hopefully one day… close to that near-perfect balance of being in the present,” said Felix in an interview with ATP.

The second seed at the Citi Open will be playing against Andreas Seppi of Italy in the second round. He can go all the way in the tournament and meet the number one seed, Rafael Nadal, in the final.

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Felix Auger’s 2021 so far

The World No.15 has played exceptional tennis this year, leading him into the top 15 rankings. However, a couple of semifinal and final losses have led to Felix not enjoying this year to the fullest. In the most recent event, Felix lost in the second round of the Olympic Games in Tokyo, against Max Purcell.

In July, Felix reached the quarterfinals of the Wimbledon Championships and garnered attention from all over the world. He reached the finals in Stuttgart and Melbourne, however could not get the desired result in both cities.

Can Felix Auger Aliassime win his maiden title in Washington?

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