MELBOURNE, Australia | From his first training sessions at the Australian Open last week, Félix Auger-Aliassime felt that the balls used there this year were not helping his game.
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“I trained with [Rafael] Nadal and we found that the balls quickly became slower, ”noted “FAA” after his snatch victory against Slovakian Alex Molcan on Wednesday in the second round.
The Quebecer and the Spaniard were not the only ones to see this issue. “The more rallies you play, the fluffier they become and they slow down,” explained former world number 1 Novak Djokovic after his first match. I think we will see more long games than last year. »
Félix does not want to make these famous balls a recurring subject. They won’t change, after all. Rather, it will be up to him to adjust, he pointed out.
“I’m going to have to be patient, admitted a calm Felix, but clearly looking for solutions. Accept that it will take three or four more balls to finish the points sometimes. I will also have to let the other make mistakes. »
“The ball doesn’t take spin well. Me, I’m going to have to hit more flat, more across the court, ”he analyzed.
Too slow game
It was not easy for Auger-Aliassime against Molcan, 53e world racket, which he faced for the second time in his career on Wednesday. The Slovak, a left-hander with a nice touch, had inflicted a tight setback on clay in Marrakech last year.
After having started the match well, the sixth favorite lost his bearings. There were the balls, yes, but also the very slow playing conditions at Margaret Court Arena, Melbourne Park’s third-biggest ground.
Due to rain on Wednesday, the roof was closed. It was also quite chilly; outside the mercury struggled to exceed 20 degrees Celsius. All of this contributed to slowing down the game, which was not to the advantage of the Quebecer.
In the middle of the first set, “FAA” began to multiply the unforced errors, while, on the other side of the field, his rival had fun bringing the balls behind him thanks to his skilful hands.
Complaints to the arbitrator
Quickly, Félix found himself with his back to the wall, down two sets to nil. To date, the Quebecer had only made up such a deficit once: it was in the first round of Roland-Garros, last year, against Peruvian qualifier Juan Pablo Varillas.
“I never complain about that, but the balls don’t bounce,” he told the referee in the middle of the third set. I know you can’t do anything about it. Maybe it’s a bad box. »
It wasn’t just a bad club after all, but little by little the 22-year-old managed to find some rhythm.
Molcan, on the other hand, lost its luster at the same time. So Auger-Aliassime managed to make up the huge deficit without sweating too much, winning 3-6, 3-6, 6-3, 6-2 and 6-2, in 3 h 2 min.
“As long as I’m on the field, I try to give myself a chance to win,” said Félix. Except that it also takes a little luck, your opponent must not play too well, otherwise you will see the match escape you. »
“Yes, it takes resilience. But also luck, he added. Generally, when you lose two rounds to zero, you don’t win. »
“I have to play better”
But this time, Auger-Aliassime won. He will face Argentinian Francisco Cerundolo, 28, in the third round.e favorite, Thursday evening in Eastern time, or Friday night.
In front of the journalists, the Quebecer did not make much of the nature of his next opponent.
After overcoming a two-set deficit against Molcan and taking four sets – and four hours – to overcome compatriot Vasek Pospisil, Félix preferred to focus on areas for improvement in his own game.
“The main thing is that I have to play better,” he said. I have already tried to play better than in the first round and I will try to continue to raise my level of play. Try to be more precise, more consistent. »
And directly the melbourne park
The players had swapped their icy towels at side changes for long clothes on Wednesday. In one day, the mercury dropped nearly 15 degrees in Melbourne. If many matches had been postponed due to the heat, Tuesday, for this third day, it was rather the rain that postponed certain meetings for several hours. Because Australia is sometimes four seasons in 24 hours. These delays forced the organizers to reveal Wednesday’s schedule very late on Tuesday, which did not please everyone. Bianca Andreescu learned from her coach when she woke up at around 7:30 a.m. that she would be playing at 11 a.m. And due to the rain, his match was postponed to early evening. “I don’t know why they waited so long before making the schedule available, it’s ridiculous,” said the Canadian.
OLD STADIUMS
The Australian Open site lacks the cachet of some other major tournaments, but it is pretty, colorful and user-friendly. Where things go wrong is inside certain stadiums, even among the most prestigious. Margaret Court, Melbourne’s third largest, was a bit depressing on Wednesday, with its concrete walls. Especially since the roof was closed and the light could not penetrate on the ground. Like the central, the Rod Laver Arena, it was built in 1988. And although it was expanded slightly in the mid-2010s, it might just be time to give it some love again. Even if, basically, it is the match that is played there that counts, of course.
AFTER TENNIS, PADEL
A padel court, where spectators can practice, is prominently displayed at one of the entrances to the complex. It also promotes the Padel Open, which will be held in Melbourne at the end of January. Padel is a hybrid of several racket sports, including tennis and squash. It is played in doubles on a smaller court, with walls and fences on which players can bounce the ball, like in squash. Points are counted in the same way as in tennis, but we serve with a spoon (perhaps Nick Kyrgios could make it his post-career…). There is a world padel circuit and, yes, there are some courts in Quebec.
THE “SHUT-UP!” FROM “SHAPO”
AFP photo
Denis Shapovalov
This is not the first time this has happened to him, but the Canadian lost his temper during his second round match against the Japanese Taro Daniel, inconvenienced by spectators who were talking during the game. first directed to the referee and complained that the noise they were making was “excessive”. “They’ve had too many beers and they don’t know what they’re doing,” said the 20 favorite, before sending a “shut up! felt good to one of them (in fact, the French version is a bit too polite, he said “shut up!” instead). But that didn’t bother Shapovalov for too long, as he won 6-3, 7-6(3), 7-5 against 94e world in the second round.
GARBAGE AND RECYCLING IN THE SAME PLACE
Yes, there are more beautiful things to see in Australia than trash cans, we agree, and we will show you more during the rest of the week. But this idea is interesting. Near the site, but also in the press room of the tournament, we find these bins in which we can put all our rubbish, whether it is waste or articles intended for recycling. The sorting is done afterwards. It’s hard to say how well it really works, but it’s intended to avoid inadvertently putting in the trash a junk that shouldn’t have been there.