"The movement is so different, don't try to slide on grass" - Auger-Aliassime on making the transition from clay to grass

After a disappointing first round loss at Roland Garros, Felix Auger-Aliassime is ready to put the clay-court season behind him as he prepares for the grass courts of Wimbledon.

The 20-year old will make his 2021 grass court debut at the MercedesCup in Stuttgart this week, where he is seeded third. In an interview with ATPTour.com, the Canadian spoke about the adjustments in switching from the red-dirt of the French Open to the more unpredictable grass courts.

"The movement is so different," revealed Auger-Aliassime. "The steps you take to get to the ball and to change direction and the sliding is different, you don’t try to slide on grass. You have to be more careful with your steps, you are not moving the same as any other surfaces so that is quite an adjustment.

"The bounce is lower, you have to get lower on your legs and bend forward a lot more so I remember past years I would get lower back pain or tightness. That is something very recurrent when playing on grass."

The NextGen star also spoke about his dream opponent on grass, selecting retired American John McEnroe, with eight-time Wimbledon champion Roger Federer coming in at a close second.

"I would go with John McEnroe, I think that would be cool," stated Auger-Aliassime. "It makes the match exciting when you have a player like John who gets the crowd into it and fights with referees. It just makes it more exciting.

"I think Roger would be pretty exciting from the videos I have watched of him. He is such a special and exciting player to watch and I think it would be cool to play him in an event like Wimbledon. I would like to dictate because he is going to try and mix it up and come to the net and put pressure on me. I would try and dictate the points and not react to what he is doing to me and play with my stronger shot on his weaker shot and expose that."