"I thought how cool would it be if I win here where he won 10 times" - Felix Auger-Aliassime on taking inspiration from Roger Federer for his Swiss Indoors title win in Basel
On Sunday at the Swiss Indoors Basel, Felix Auger-Aliassime held firm to defeat Holger Rune 6-3, 7-5 in the summit clash to win his third title in as many weeks.
In the season points competition leading up to the eight-man ATP Finals in Turin beginning on November 13, the ninth-ranked Canadian advanced to provisional sixth place. He extended his winning streak to 13 matches by winning the trophy in Basel, in addition to victories in Florence and Antwerp.
Speaking in his on-court interview, Auger-Aliassime revealed he was ecstatic at entering the list of Basel trophy winners alongside 10-time champion Roger Federer, who is the 22-year-old's childhood hero.
"It’s really cool. I actually thought about him this morning, and thought how cool it would be if I win here, where he won 10 times. I’m very far from that, but it’s so cool to have my name with all these great champions at this prestigious tournament. Lifting the trophy is definitely going to feel special," he said.
"I actually thought about him this morning!"
@felixtennis on winning the title in Federer's home city 🥺 https://t.co/ncluHpER8j
Felix Auger-Aliassime added that he was happy with his performance in Basel, where he did not drop a single set en route to his title win.
"It’s been an amazing week. Once again in the final, not getting broken all week… [It’s been] a long year, a long stretch of wins, and it’s not over. So hopefully I can keep going, but right now I’m feeling all the good emoitons that come with winning a tournament. It’s amazing," he stated.
"It’s been my goal since the start of the year" - Felix Auger-Aliassime on qualifying for ATP Finals
Felix Auger-Aliassime discussed his immediate aim of qualifying for the 2022 ATP Finals in Turin in a recent interview with The Slice Tennis. The youngster stated that qualifying for the year-end tournament has been his goal since the start of the year and will do everything in his power to ensure he joins the likes of Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic and Carlos Alcaraz at the event.
"It’s been my goal since the start of the year, and now we are at the end, that last push to give to try and qualify in my position now, so I’ll try to give everything. But of course there are other goals like winning one title or multiple, that’s been done, so it’s a great feeling. At the end of the day you just want to play your best tennis and feel like you are close to what you are working for," he said.
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