Felix Auger-Aliassime says he wasn’t prepared to stay on the court and act as a ‘punching bag’ for his opponent after retiring from his first round match at the Australian Open.
The seventh seed, playing Nuno Burges, was trailing 3-6, 4-6, 4-6 to the Portuguese player before calling it quits due to severe cramping that hampered his movement. He consulted with the physio before deciding to retire from the match. It is only the second time Auger-Aliassime has retired from a Grand Slam match after the 2018 US Open.
“I’m OK, I just started cramping at the beginning of that third set, and it became very difficult to be competitive at this level,” he said.
“I tried for a set, but it wasn’t possible.
“I don’t have all the answers now. I’m trying to be very professional in everything I do, I love the sport and I love to play, so I try to do everything I can in my control to get ready.
“It hurts even more… I’m not totally finding the reasons why this is happening. It wasn’t happening in the past.”
Conditions at Melbourne Park saw the temperature reach 30C, but in the mid-afternoon, the tournament’s heat stress scale had a rating of only 1.5 out of five, according to the BBC. Meaning there was ‘temperature playing conditions‘ for matches to go ahead.
“I can’t recall ever (cramping) this early in a tournament, this early in a match.” He added.
“I knew it wasn’t heading in the right direction, I don’t like to be on the court that way… I don’t want to be just standing there like a punching bag. There’s no point to carry on.”
Earlier this month, the 25-year-old was ill after taking part in the United Cup. However, he doesn’t believe this was linked to his cramping issues.
Auger-Aliassime isn’t the only player who has been forced to retire from their match. In the women’s draw, Marina Stakusic had to be taken off the court in a wheelchair due to cramping when down 3-5 in the final set against Priscilla Hon. Meanwhile, Francesca Jones was forced to quit her match due to a glute problem.
