US OPEN

September 1, 2025

Felix Auger-Aliassime

Press Conference

F. AUGER-ALIASSIME/A. Rublev

7-5, 6-3, 6-4

THE MODERATOR: Felix, congratulations. Convincing win. Your thoughts on the match.

FELIX AUGER-ALIASSIME: Well, yes, good win considering our head-to-head, considering, you know, how good he is as a player. Then waking up this morning, I knew I played a great match last time, but you know, you hope he doesn't play too good and that I can execute my game well.

But I think once I settled into the match and I kind of, like, got back -- I was down 4-2 for one and then got back to 4-All -- I felt like, okay, I settled in and I felt much better about my chances. From that moment on I felt like I was putting a lot of pressure on him.

Then as I won the first set, I felt like I was in control of the match.

THE MODERATOR: Questions.

Q. I wanted to ask about your forehand. Both matches you've had a lot of success, a lot of winners with that shot. Just curious what you're seeing with that stroke, and is it more strategy being so aggressive off that shot, what your opponent is giving you? What are you seeing with that shot?

FELIX AUGER-ALIASSIME: Well, it's always been my strength, right, and my instinct growing up was to -- I'd rather the match to be in my hands. I was never a kid that was playing and waiting for the mistake. Then sometimes it played against me. I would miss plenty as a kid and then I had to kind of know how to use it well and to be precise and consistent.

But it's a similar thing now at a higher level. Sometimes I would miss with that shot, and then you start questioning, am I going for too much?

But I think what I did well today, for example, at the start I missed a few, spread a few kind of far, but then I believe that, yeah, it's just a question of time that I'm going to start hitting my targets. Once I did, then it became very difficult for him.

Q. It's been obviously really impressive to see you playing with such confidence. You mentioned on court that obviously there have been times in the past few years when you didn't have much confidence, injuries and stuff. When was that kind of confidence at its worse, I guess, at its lowest, and what did it feel like? What was it like being in your head, and how did you get out of it?

FELIX AUGER-ALIASSIME: Throughout the years I didn't -- I still had good moments. I was around 25, 30 in the world. It was not like I was losing all the time. But for sure there was months where, yeah, like I was thinking, okay, what's my approach tactically with my game? Once I got the physical things kind of sorted out, it was like, okay, now I'm healthy again. How am I playing?

Then, yeah, there were times where I was, like, okay, am I going too aggressive or too far or not, but once that is all clear in my mind and I can move well and feel confident with my choices... I do feel like there was also times in the past years where I was playing the way I'm playing now with that level. At the start of the year I was playing well this year or last year at the Olympics or in Madrid when I played him in the final, so there was other times.

The challenge is to make that as consistent as possible.

Q. You mentioned earlier about the head-to-head. Did that play into your mind, and does that ever play into your mind the head-to-head that you have against players?

FELIX AUGER-ALIASSIME: Not really, because it's different, like, you can lose, but there's different ways of losing. Obviously the first times I played these guys, they were a bit older than me, and I was coming in. I was not the better player. So it was kind of like, okay, I would lose, but I would feel like, okay, I still just need to improve.

Once I got to the similar level than them, sometimes they were just close matches where one time I lost. He saved match points against me. One time I was up 4-3 with a break in the third set, lost.

He's been tough. With me again this year in Doha we played 7-6 in the third for him. We've always had tight matches, so I just know that my level is there with him. I know like the ways to win. It's just about doing it and doing it until the end so he doesn't come back.

Q. A bit of an off-topic question about this thing of throwing things into the crowd, giving, you know, your hat.

FELIX AUGER-ALIASSIME: Yes.

Q. Stuff to people. I don't know if you saw there was an incident earlier in the week when a guy, like, snatched a cap away from a boy. Have you ever had things like that when you might throw a towel in and then people start kind of fighting over it? Is that weird for people to, like, be fighting over your sweaty stuff?

FELIX AUGER-ALIASSIME: Yeah, it's funny sometimes (laughing). I get it, because I didn't have an incident like that, but I get it because it happened to me as a kid. So I can tell you a story of how it happened to me actually in Montreal.

As a kid, I was probably 13, and I was with friends. I kind of went to grab, like, a wrist band. I got hit in the face, and actually my nose started bleeding. I was, like, my God, I'm bleeding for a wrist band. That's crazy.

Yeah, after that I would kind of just stay back and let the others fight for the sweaty stuff.

Q. Was that another kid or an adult?

FELIX AUGER-ALIASSIME: Yeah, it was my friends. It was by accident. It was some of my friends.

Q. It can get pretty crazy out there.

FELIX AUGER-ALIASSIME: It usually doesn't though. It usually doesn't. Especially in tennis you rarely see that. I'm not sure the incident you're talking about, but I think people are pretty kind normally. There's plenty of players and plenty of wristbands for everyone.

Q. What do you consider the biggest strengths of Alex's game and the biggest challenges for you?

FELIX AUGER-ALIASSIME: Well, his strengths were always his movement and a quality to keep the ball in play and to kind of like counter, you know, like let's say the speed that the other player will play at and, yeah, to just defend. But what's been very interesting is that he's added also stepping into the court a lot more. I think that's why he's in the position he's in today.

He now has, like, very much the ability to step in as soon as you give him a chance, you know, and to come early in the court and to punish you. That's why his game is even more complete than how it was in the past.

I think every player tries to improve, you know, and we all know in the locker room, like, the strengths of players and what they need to improve. The question is, can you improve, right? He has, and that's why he's been consistently now in the top 10 for a bit of time.

Q. What do you consider the thing you've most improved at?

FELIX AUGER-ALIASSIME: Well, honestly, playing with my strengths has always been important; the serve, the forehand. So it was about making that more consistent and precise. Once I do that, then I feel my best version on the court.

Then as well, the return was always something I wanted to improve. I always felt like I had the reaction time to do it, but it was like, okay, try to be precise with where you put it and try to make as many as possible. Because you can engage in rallies as much as possible on the return games and then the backhand as well, being able to change direction, being able to defend there, kind of keep the guy further into the court and not play too short.

So there's a couple of things, but for sure when I serve and hit the forehand the way I do, like, that's how I win matches.

Q. Talking about your physicality, how would you describe your journey, some seasons with tough injuries? What have you done differently? Maybe have you worked with someone specifically that is important to mention?

FELIX AUGER-ALIASSIME: Yes. I mean, I don't mention my team often, but they do good work. We brought in a new fitness coach in 2023. Yeah, in '23 when I got hurt. A new physio as well. I just feel like, yeah, everybody is more in sync in my team and great communication in terms of, like, having a protocol of what I need to do to stay in shape, because now I know my body more and I know kind of the areas where I'm a bit more fragile, so to speak.

Like I had a problem in my knee or I can have problems in my back. Then you kind of, like, okay, in your preparation you're more careful with these areas.

I think I also know myself better. And I know, okay, this is a pain I can play with and this is maybe a pain where I need to consult and maybe get better before I step back on the court.

But I think at 21, 22, sometimes we just go out there until the wheels fall off, you know, and then it's like, okay, you need to stop for a few months and maybe not the smartest.

So I think I'm taking better decisions with my body for sure.

Q. Work like yoga or something?

FELIX AUGER-ALIASSIME: I've always done a bit of everything. I've been very curious to try many things. In terms of what I had, it was more strengthening.

You can see, okay, a player and say, Oh, he's strong, but you need to be specific about the areas where you need to strengthen yourself. For me, that's more what I needed.

Q. You said on court that coming back on Ashe and winning this match felt really deserved and that you went through struggles. Could you perhaps elaborate on these struggles? Were they strictly physical or also mental throughout the last years?

FELIX AUGER-ALIASSIME: They were different, different struggles. I think as a player it always translates in your results. Sometimes you can feel good, but if you're not winning, I mean, you have to find ways to get better.

So as everybody saw, it goes by your results, your ranking. Yeah, it dropped for different reasons, like you mentioned. It could be injuries. It could be mental struggling to win a few key matches. Then, you know, your ranking drops a little bit.

But why I said on court that it feels better and deserved is because at 21, you feel like a bit like, oh, it just happens kind of naturally, and you don't question. You feel like you're going to be in that position every year or you feel like, okay, was it that difficult? I don't know.

But then you're, like, okay, it is difficult, and you need to prepare, and you need to be very, you know, precise with everything you do in your work. I think I appreciate this position I'm in now to be in quarterfinals here again much more than I did a couple of years ago.