Felix Auger-Aliassime was quick to shut down the question of whether if he ever felt "afraid" on the court after meeting Jannik Sinner at the ATP Finals.
On Monday, Auger-Aliassime launched his second ATP Finals campaign by picking up a 5-7 1-6 defeat to world No. 2 Sinner. Early in the match, the world No. 8 saved a couple of break points - including a set point in the 10th game to have the first set tied to five games apiece. But then, the Canadian lost his serve in the 12th game, and his game completely collapsed.
After being beaten by Sinner - who separated himself from the rest of the competition along with Carlos Alcaraz - Auger-Aliassime was asked whether he felt afraid on the court.
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Auger-Aliassime: Never... I'm not going to war, you know?
"To your last sentence, I've never been because, I mean, we're not going to war, you know? Let's have some perspective. Like, I do put in my mind that it's a battle, a tennis battle. I'm very focused, very driven," the 25-year-old responded.
"Never been afraid of a tennis match. More focused that when you play at this level, everything needs to be very disciplined and very precise from the first moments. I've been playing him a few times this year, so I knew what to expect. Yeah, it's more like when you play this top level, you have to be extremely good. That's it."
Auger-Aliassime now has two wins and four defeats in matches against Sinner. However, it should be noted that the Canadian's two wins came during the 2022 season and that he has since lost four times in a row against the Italian.
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In his next ATP Finals match, Auger-Aliassime will take on Ben Shelton, who was beaten by Alexander Zverev in his opener. The Canadian defeated Shelton in their lone meeting at the 2024 French Open.
