Montreal teen shuns grass for more time on clay

After bowing out in the second round of qualifying at the French Open, Félix Auger-Aliassime sat down with his coaches and decided to make a short-term change with a long-term goal in mind.

The 17-year-old from Montreal opted to extend his run on clay courts and skip the grass-court season. It’s a move that appears to be paying off.

Auger-Aliassime won an ATP Challenger tournament in Lyon, France, after his appearance at Roland Garros and reached the final a week later in Blois, France.

Rather than face a potential early qualifying exit at a grass-court event like Wimbledon, Auger-Aliassime has enjoyed some deep runs on the lower-level circuit while playing on a slower surface where rallies tend to be longer.

The goal is to maximize that court time, soak up the experience and use it as a building block for the future.

“To be humble and to play Challengers, I think it’s good for his mentality,” said Louis Borfiga, a Tennis Canada vice-president of high performance. “He has to understand that it’s a long way to be a champion ... I think it’s the right mentality for the future.”

Considered one of the best prospects in the sport, Auger-Aliassime has risen to No. 152 in the world rankings. He has a big serve, powerful strokes from both sides and strong court-coverage skills.

He looks like a veteran even though he’s a month away from his 18th birthday.

“I think I have the game to play well on every surface,” Auger-Aliassime said. “Hopefully by next year I can play all four Slams in the same year.”

Auger-Aliassime was hampered by a knee injury at the start of this season, but has made strides since his return. He has mixed some ATP World Tour events into his calendar and reached the second round at Indian Wells, Calif., beating Canadian Vasek Pospisil before falling to another compatriot in Milos Raonic.

The 6-foot-3, 185-pounder is aiming for a top-100 ranking by the end of the season and plans to stay in Europe for a couple of weeks before shifting his attention to the hard-court season.

Like many young players, Auger-Aliassime has big goals as he looks to the future. He’s prepared to take the small steps to try to get there.

“For me, the dream has always been to win a Grand Slam and to be No. 1 in the world,” he said. “That’s the dream. Now I’m focusing myself on short-term objectives: improving my game and just becoming a better player.”