Auger-Aliassime set to play on opening day of Western & Southern Open

One of Canada’s most promising tennis talents hopes to pick up where he left off before the COVID-19 pandemic.

Felix Auger-Aliassime, who turned 20 earlier this month, will play Nikoloz Basilashvili of Georgia on Saturday in the opening round of the Western & Southern Open in New York, at the same venue where the U.S. Open will be held later this month due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

It will be Auger-Aliassime’s first ATP tournament since late February when he reached the round of 16 of the Mexican Open.

Auger-Aliassime will participate in the upcoming Grand Slam and he trusts that tournament, along with other future tour stops, will be safe to play through during the pandemic. This comes after a number of men’s and women’s players, including Rafael Nadal and Ash Barty, pulled out of this year’s U.S. Open due to coronavirus concerns.

“I always thought that if they’re going to play, I’m going to come,” Auger-Aliassime said.

The Montreal native is staying in his own private player suite located inside Arthur Ashe Stadium in Flushing Meadows, where you can spot the venue’s main court out the window. The suites originally were for distinguished royal guests, but they’ve since been configured for each of the seeded players at this year’s U.S. Open.

Auger-Aliassime feels they’re an improvement over his usual accommodations for tournaments.

“It’s a really private suite for you and your team,” he said.

Auger-Aliassime anticipates a challenge in playing matches without fans. The U.S. Open announced in June it would not allow spectators. While he thinks the issue won’t be that apparent on smaller courts, he feels it might be an adjustment on more prominent courts.

“When I look at the big stadiums and I practise on them, you feel like that’s what it’s going to look like when you play a tournament. It’s a weird feeling.” he said.

Prior to the restart, the 20-year old spent down time with his family back in Montreal before travelling to Monaco in May to train.

Following the U.S. Open, Auger-Aliassime says he plans on playing in Rome, Hamburg, and the rescheduled French Open in late September.

“It’ll depend on my results,” Auger-Aliassime said. “If I feel tired or if I’ve played too many tournaments in a row, maybe I’ll skip one. But I’m fine to play almost every week until the end of the year.”

Auger-Aliassime hopes to build on what has been a promising 2020 so far, even if it feels like it happened years ago. He has reached the final of two ATP Tour events this year, in Rotterdam and Marseille, and is ranked 20th among men’s singles players.

“I feel like everything pre-COVID was a different time,” Auger-Aliassime said. “Now, it’s kind of a fresh page. I’m going to try to, obviously, play as good as I was playing at the start of this year and have similar results.”