Felix Auger-Aliassime on 'big brother' Tsonga, working with Toni Nadal and Novak Djokovic vaccine row

There was a brief moment caught on camera after the Rotterdam final earlier this month that showed an emotional Felix Auger-Aliassime huddled around a phone with his mother Marie and members of his team as they FaceTimed his father Sam to celebrate his maiden title triumph. You could hear the sound of Auger-Aliassime choking up as he buried his face into his mother’s shoulder. Ad/> After losing all eight ATP finals he had reached, the Canadian was finally a title winner on tour.

The word ‘relief’ may seem like an understatement when describing how he felt at that moment, but it’s the one he repeatedly used to reflect on that special day. ATP AcapulcoNadal beats Paul to set up Medvedev clash, Norrie and Tsitsipas to meet in semis6 HOURS AGO “Being with my team and when we called my dad and my mum being there, I think I just got emotional; just the fact that I struggled personally but I think the people around me saw me struggle with losing in those finals and not being able to achieve that,” Auger-Aliassime told Eurosport after announcing he had pulled out of the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships. “I think I just got emotionally very happy and joyful.

So it was a nice moment, to have my mom and my dad there on the phone. Definitely these emotions are what you play for.” At just 21, Auger-Aliassime is ranked a career-high No. 9 in the world.

He is the current match-wins leader on tour this season – with 15 victories against four losses – and has reached the final in three of the four tournaments he has contested so far in 2022, capturing titles in Rotterdam and with Canada at the ATP Cup. At the majors, Auger-Aliassime is arguably the most improved player over the past 18 months. He made it into the second week at five