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Felix Auger-Aliassime admits Carlos Alcaraz's success has a motivating factor on him but also warned the Spaniard that he and other players are determined to "prevent him from winning every tournament." Alcaraz, 20, won his second Grand Slam title after beating Novak Djokovic in this year's Wimbledon final.
Alcaraz now has 12 titles in his collection and he is ranked at No 1 in the world. This year, Alcaraz has a 47-4 record and has won six titles. “It awakens my competitive side. I also allow myself to speak for the other players [on the Tour].
We don't want to let him win every tournament. It motivates me to do the right things," Auger-Aliassime said, via Le Journal de Montreal.
Auger-Aliassime has a positive record against Alcaraz
Auger-Aliassime, 22, has a 3-1 head-to-head record against Alcaraz.
Their first meeting came at the 2021 US Open, where Auger-Aliassime was up by a set and a break before Alcaraz retired the match. Last year, Auger-Aliassime defeated Alcaraz at the Davis Cup and Basel. In March, Auger-Aliassime and Alcaraz met for the first time in 2023 and the Spaniard clinched his first win over the Canadian with a 6-4 6-4 score in the Indian Wells Masters quarterfinal.
The 2023 season hasn't been that great for Auger-Aliassime and the 22-year-old not reaching the latter stages is a reason why there hasn't been more match between the Canadian and Alcaraz. Most recently, Auger-Aliassime suffered a first-round defeat to Michael Mmoh at Wimbledon.
Throughout this year, Auger-Aliassime has been hampered by knee issues but says now his knee is doing better. "Things are much better. I went to Wimbledon thinking it was going to hold up and I'd be okay. Unfortunately, I felt pain towards the middle of the match.
I did what I had to do to heal myself. Right now, my knee is fine. I'm back on the court and I'm ready to fight against the best," Auger-Aliassime said. Auger-Aliassime will return to action in early August at the Toronto Masters.