Felix Auger-Aliassime hopes to get “closer to the Top 10” after reaching his third final of the season at the Dubai Championships

Felix Auger-Aliassime defeated Quentin Halys 5-7, 6-4, 6-3 to reach the final of the Dubai Tennis Championships.

Felix Auger-Aliassime hopes to get “closer to the Top 10” after reaching his third final of the season at the Dubai Championships

Felix Auger-Aliassime (via X)

Felix Auger-Aliassime is having the best season of his career. The Canadian star has already won two titles this season, the Adelaide International and Open Occitanie. He is now set for a third after rallying from behind to beat French qualifier Quentin Halys in three sets to reach the Dubai Tennis Championships final.

The 24-year-old struggled last season as his biggest run was reaching the Madrid Open final, where he later lost to Andrey Rublev. This season, he returned to the court with better game tactics, which saw him beat Jiri Lehecka in the final of the Adelaide International. Despite a disappointing Australian Open, he bounced back at the Open Occitanie by beating Aleksandar Kovacevic in the final.

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In Dubai, the World No.21 has continued with the momentum. He defeated Alexander Bublik, Nuno Borges, and Marin Cilic to reach the semifinals. He then defeated qualifier Quentin Halys 5-7, 6-4, 6-3 to reach the final. The win was his 14th of the season, more than any ATP player this season.

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The Canadian is now looking to continue with the form and probably win the ATP 500 Dubai Tennis Championship title. He said during his press conference that his goal this season is to get closer to the Top 10 in the ATP rankings.

Gradually, I hope that by the end of this year, I will get closer to the top 10, hopefully even to Turin. It would be a great year. From there, I think when you start being consistent in other tournaments and dominating players, you approach the Grand Slams with a different conviction. I go to each Slam eager to win, believing I can do it. But it’s different when you have won a lot on the ATP circuit. That’s the mentality I’m trying to build. If I achieve that, I hope that in the coming years, I will have the chance to lift one of those big trophies.

Felix Auger-Aliassime said

Auger-Aliassime will await the winner between Stefanos Tsitsipas and Tallon Griekspoor to know who he meets in the final of the Dubai Tennis Championships. It will be his 18th career final.

Felix Auger-Aliassime opens up about the difficulties of the 2024 season

Felix Auger-Aliassime has played three sets thrice just this week at the Dubai Tennis Championships. The Canadian has been outstanding in finding solutions against tough opponents. However, last year, it wasn’t that way. In fact, he earned only two wins from the 2024 US Open to the end of the season.

Felix Auger-Aliassime
Felix Auger-Aliassime (via X)

Following a difficult end of the 2024 season, the World No.21 had enough time to recover for the current season. He revealed during the aforementioned press conference that it was a very tough period in his career.

Last year was tough for several reasons. I ended up having back issues, in Asia and during indoor tournaments. I played my last match in Basel. So, I guess I had time to recover, rest, and go on vacation. Perhaps I had more weeks than other players to train. We did a good job. I have to acknowledge the merit of my coach, physical trainer, physio, mental coach, and the whole team. Not on the court, but by my side.

Felix Auger-Aliassime added

Auger-Aliassime will be heading to the Indian Wells Masters as one of the strong favorites following his run this season. The World No.21 is also expected to climb up the ATP rankings.