ROLAND GARROS

May 25, 2025

Felix Auger-Aliassime

Press Conference

THE MODERATOR: Felix, welcome.

FELIX AUGER-ALIASSIME: Thank you.

THE MODERATOR: Well done in Hamburg.

FELIX AUGER-ALIASSIME: Thank you.

THE MODERATOR: Do you feel it will give you more confidence for this Roland Garros?

FELIX AUGER-ALIASSIME: Well, it's surely good to get some wins before Roland Garros on the clay. Yeah, for some reason I was struggling to find my way on the clay so far until Hamburg. That's why I think it was the right plan with the team to give ourselves chances to spend time on the court.

Obviously the practice is one thing, but to go on the court and to find a way to get some wins, to dominate my opponents, play different opponents, get three wins in a row, very different matchups. I think it's very good leading up to Roland Garros.

THE MODERATOR: Questions in English, please.

Q. How did you find the conditions here compared to Hamburg?

FELIX AUGER-ALIASSIME: Haven't practiced yet here. I'm practicing this afternoon. We'll see today. It depends on the weather a lot. That's what is tricky with clay is always the clay changes with the weather: if it's more dry, if it's more humid, if it's raining. Also the temperature.

In Hamburg, it got very cold the last few days. When I played the semifinals it was maybe 10 degrees. It felt very different in the start of the week. For sure it's a little different here.

We'll see how we adapt with the opponent to try to be the best player on that given day. Let's see how it feels this afternoon. At least it's the same balls we played in Hamburg and here. That's not a change. That should help, as well.

Q. This Grand Slam, this surface, is the most changeable?

FELIX AUGER-ALIASSIME: Yeah, that and the grass. The hard court never changes really. Even though Melbourne sometimes in one day you can have all the seasons in one day, it's true.

But I do feel like, yeah, Roland Garros, I've played years here where it's extremely hot, and some years it's cold and rainy. Wimbledon the same, depending on the whether, if it's really hot or not. When it's rainy, it's quite different, as well.

That is something that us players, we're very sensitive to. Sometimes we have to change tension in our strings, even sometimes the way we strike the ball. You know the opponent is always dealing with the same thing, so it's whoever is going to adapt the best.

Q. What is your preference?

FELIX AUGER-ALIASSIME: I like hotter, dryer conditions. The ball bounces more, so it's better for my game, better for my serve. My forehand kicks off the court much better. Obviously hotter conditions is better for me, even if I did grow up in the coldest place on earth.

THE MODERATOR: Questions in French.

Q. Very happy to see a young Canadian qualify. What can you tell us about Victoria Mboko?

FELIX AUGER-ALIASSIME: I have followed her career for the last several years, everything that she's done. There are brothers and sisters who played tennis, as well. I've been playing with them since I'm a child as well in Canada. It's good to see that the tradition is conditioning in the family, that she's continues to play tennis, that she's getting to the level where she is today. I think she's got a very promising future. It's very good for Canada, for sport in our country.

Every few years there are new players coming, new faces. Of course, it makes me very proud. Of course, I try to follow all the matches or at least all the results. Should he is very well-supported, has a good head on her shoulders. She's got a very good future in front of her.

Q. There's a lot of talent in Canadian tennis at the moment. I think you've got a very strong bond, Guinea, Congo. With Gabriel Diallo, you grew up together. Tell us about this special bond that binds you?

FELIX AUGER-ALIASSIME: We're very close. I was a little bit ahead of him when we were teenagers, but we didn't train a lot together. There was a point that came when Gabriel was working with my father in Quebec, he was living in my house, even if sometimes I was away elsewhere. We were able to meet together at the house because he was three years in my father's academy. That got us closer. It got our families closer, even though we knew each other together.

First of all, I'm very proud of him, to see his development. He deserves it so much because we always tried to see talent in our respective countries. At 14, 15 years old, people weren't looking at him necessarily because maybe he was going to go to university in the States, maybe he was going to have a career. He wasn't sure that he was going to get into the top 100, top 250. I give him credit for that.

I think he's done wonderful work. He's very invested in his career, very intelligent. Today he completely deserves the place he has in the rankings. Bravo to him for all his work.

Q. The fact that you've got an African father, both of you, does that get you closer?

FELIX AUGER-ALIASSIME: It's another thing that makes us close. I don't know if it makes us closer. We went to dinner in Monaco before going to Hamburg. We shared memories of our childhood when we talk about different things that we've experienced. Sometimes we've got parallels in the way that we were educated from this African side of things.

It was an education that was half American, half Canadian, a little bit African. That does get us closer.

Q. For the ranking, how does it work for tennis, which is sort of like you're 30 or 20? How do you feel in your tennis today?

FELIX AUGER-ALIASSIME: It's true that the ranking is one thing. What's difficult is there are days, matches that I play, and I think that I'm playing as well as when I was close to 6 or 8 in the world. Now I'm getting a bit away from that.

I'm trying to be more consistent from week to week to try to get my best level and be more consistent, even if it's not easy.

The difference with the other very good players is that they even win on days when they're not playing very well. So that's the challenge. The challenge that I have is to find a way, even if I don't feel really well, I've got to give myself a chance to continue.

Of course, I'd like to be seeded even higher than I am at the moment. I'd like to be in the top 30. That means that I'm going to be much more regular in what I do.

Q. Do you find as you're advancing in your career that the basic level, it's such that if you don't get better...

FELIX AUGER-ALIASSIME: Completely. I was reading when I was 18 or 19 when they were talking about Federer, Nadal and Djokovic and what they did at the beginning. They knew how to continue to improve all along, to reinvent themselves during their career. Now I'm really experiencing this. I'm seeing it myself.

From 2019, even 2021, the average of all the young people arriving, Mensik, Arthur Fils, Fonseca, others, the average base level is very high. It's even higher than it was for a lot of reasons. I'm not going to go into all the details.