2023-06-29 12:00:00
STOKE POGES, England | An exhibition tournament like The Boodles, which Félix Auger-Aliassime is playing this week not far from London, is nothing like an official ATP event.
There are no points in the standings at stake. The scholarship – usually very generous – is already insured. The competitors are therefore there to refine their game in a lighter atmosphere than usual.
Félix and the Russian Andrey Rublev showed it on Wednesday. On the field, the smiles were more numerous than during an ATP match. The opponent’s good shots were often applauded.
“What did you do?”
And above all, Rublev did not fail to tease Auger-Aliassime when the latter let a seemingly easy-to-hit ball pass in the second set of this meeting lost 7-6 and 7-6 by the Quebecer.
“But what did you do last night?” the Russian threw at him, laughing … insinuating that “FAA” had probably gone to bed late.
Auger-Aliassime smiled, but he did not fail to take revenge at the next point. Especially since, according to him, he “froze”, because he thought “that [Rublev] was going to go to the other side or that he was going to try the drop shot.
“I told him that he must have been practicing his serves a lot lately, to see the way he was serving,” explained Felix with a laugh.
They get along very well
However, do not look for animosity where there is none, the two opponents get along very well. “We’ve known each other for a long time!” said the 12th in the world.
It is besides Rublev who decked out “FAA” with a new nicknamelast year.
If we thought it was because Félix expresses himself very well, the latter rather believes that the Russian called him “Oxford”, because he was “dressed like a top of the class” during the Finals of the ATP, in Turin.
In short, this time too, Felix did not care.
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