Seed No. 10 Happy Auger – also he hopes to recover for a while after leaving Roland Garros in the first round on Monday.
Italian veteran Fabio Fognini it proved too much for the Canadian, who secured a 6-4, 6-4, 6-3 first round win.
This is Fognini’s first top-ten win in a main event since he came back from straight sets to upset Rafael Nadal at the US Open in 2015.
While Fognini played well, it was clear from start to finish that Auger-Aliassime was not 100% in the match. Later, Auger-Aliassime revealed that he had been dealing with a number of physical issues during the match, including a constant problem with his shoulder.
“Yeah. I mean, the shoulder isn’t great, but that wasn’t a problem tonight. I got a little sick last night, I didn’t sleep much. Yeah, sick all night. It’s just reality,” Auger-Aliassime later said. “I woke up today in the morning trying, I mean, like I’m struggling with a few things, and that’s, can you believe it, I got sick the day before my game?
“I was trying to warm up. I’ve been trying to see a doctor, see what I can take, but after one set, you know, just cramps and I just can’t move anymore. So yeah, I don’t know. “I’m not sure if I should continue or give myself a chance or if I should stop. It’s been a tough time but I’m okay. I just need to get my health back.”
Auger-Aliassime also admitted that he takes painkillers to deal with his shoulder problem.
It was a hard clay court swing for the Canadian, who lost in the early rounds in both Rome and Madrid. He also had to withdraw from a match in Lyon against eventual champion Arthur Fils.
Auger-Aliassime hopes to take some time off and recover before the grass court events leading up to Wimbledon.
“Certainly. It’s hard to say at the moment, but I know for sure that I need not just an arm,” said Auger-Aliassime. “I need to understand why I got sick like me, and also a week ago it happened in Lyon. I got sick in the same way.
“Yeah, I just have two or three things I need to figure out, run tests, batteries of tests. I mean lately I’ve been just unhealthy and just been fighting my body a lot trying to practice trying I definitely need to get back into myself as a player and enjoy the game because yeah it was hard.
“So I do not know. We’ll see how the next few days go. I will run some tests and hope to be able to return soon. I hope so, but I have to come back healthy. Bright.”
Photo credit: @Queens Club
