"I hope this inspires kids and people back home in these tough times right now' - Felix Auger-Aliassime after Canada's 2022 ATP Cup win
Felix Auger-Aliassime defeated Roberto Bautista Agut 7-6(3), 6-3 to help Canada clinch a 2-0 win against Spain in the 2022 ATP Cup final. Canada were faced with a disastrous start to their 2022 ATP Cup campaign — Denis Shapovalov was quarantined after testing positive for COVID-19 on arrival to Sydney. There was also uncertainty about whether Steven Diez could fly in for the tournament in time due to a COVID-19 infection he had contracted in Canada. In addition to this, Canada lost their first four matches in the competition, and were on the verge of being eliminated.
During his post-match press conference, Felix Auger-Aliassime elaborated on how making a comeback from these early shocks helped the team grow stronger as a unit.
"So, yeah, it was a tough start, but at the end things came in together well after that first tie that we lost 3-0. We bounced back really well against Great Britain. Then I think from that moment we started gaining more and more belief," Auger-Aliassime said.
"Of course, being so close to being out of the group and then coming out, you're kind of on that survival mode and I think we just carried that all the way through to today," he added.
Your 2022 #ATPCup champions! 🇨🇦🏆 https://t.co/kjYtsMyE4C
Aliassime explained how much this win meant to a tennis-loving nation like Canada. He added that this was a much-needed distraction from the uncertainty caused by the latest lockdown in the country and that he hoped it "inspires the next generation."
"I hope this inspires kids and people back home in these tough times right now," Auger-Aliassime said. "I mean, Canada's been, a lot of provinces have been going down into lockdown again, not going out much. And I hope this gives them, just puts a smile on their face and gives them a little bit of support and hope. And then, yeah, inspires a next generation."
"We're a great nation of tennis, I think we have proved that for sure now and it has to keep going" - Felix Auger-Aliassime
Felix Auger-Aliassime emphasized that the future of tennis in Canada looks bright and to clinch an ATP title without the presence of seasoned players like Milos Raonic and Vasek Pospisil was a big boost to the team.
"I think now we can just show that this country not only has great players but it has a lot of good players, a lot of players that can compete at the highest level on the tour. I mean, like you said there's Milos [Raonic] and Vasek [Pospisil] missing, but here we are with this trophy," Auger-Aliassime said. "We're a great nation of tennis, I think have proved that for sure now and it has to keep going," he added.
Teammate Denis Shapovalov, who played a big role in Canada's victory at the tournament, shared the same opinion.
"Yeah, I think it's definitely amazing for the country. It wasn't really a summer country to begin with in terms of sports, but the last I think five years or so it's been really put on the map with the Summer Olympics, so many athletes doing well, and especially in tennis, we have so many great athletes coming out. This is another big step," Shapovalov said.
Shapovalov said he hopes Canada's victory at the ATP Cup inspires more youngsters in the nation to consider tennis as their sport of choice.
"I really hope it [2022 ATP Cup] was able to be seen in Canada, I'm sure it was. And I hope it just gives belief, more belief to everyone there that we are a summer sport country as well. I just hope a lot of kids will start picking up racquets after seeing us competing," he added.