Tennis star refuses to watch Novak Djokovic because he'd get too stressed

Felix Auger-Aliassime has revealed that he refused to watch Novak Djokovic's matches in Athens over the weekend - even though he had reason to be cheering for the Serbian superstar. The ATP Finals Race to Turin went down to the wire this year - Auger-Aliassime and Lorenzo Musetti were fighting for the eighth and final spot in the draw, and Musetti had to win the Athens title to qualify.

The Italian faced Djokovic in Saturday's final and ultimately lost, which allowed Auger-Aliassime to qualify for the ATP Finals. But the world No. 8 still didn't want to keep an eye on the action over in Greece, admitting that it was too stressful.

Asked whether he watched any matches in Athens over the weekend, Auger-Aliassime replied: "Actually, I didn't. I didn't. I was like, 'This is going to be a bit stressful to watch'. I was trying to stay away from all that stress.

"I was obviously following the scores, the results, but just focusing on what was under my control, trying to get ready and stay relaxed."

Ultimately, both Auger-Aliassime and Musetti got to compete in Turin. Djokovic - who qualified for the ATP Finals weeks ago and was set to be the No. 4 seed - withdrew from the season-ending tournament after his Athens title triumph, which allowed Musetti to take his place in the draw.

Auger-Aliassime, meanwhile, had been in Turin since Wednesday, watching and waiting to see whether he'd nab a spot as one of the top eight. The Canadian moved up to eighth in the race when he reached the Paris Masters final a week ago, and had a quick turnaround time.

He explained: "I came back home the next day, had to do some recovery. I mean, as you all know, I pulled out of Basel, got ready for Paris. I think I handled the situation well. It was tough matches. The body held up nicely.

"I had to recover after Paris. I was doing that for a few days at home. Then I came here Wednesday night, hoping that things would go my way, yeah."

This is Auger-Aliassime's second appearance at the ATP Finals. He qualified in 2022 and failed to get out of the group stage, beating Rafael Nadal but losing to Casper Ruud and Taylor Fritz. But things feel different for the 25-year-old this time.

"It's a bit different. Like, the first time was, 'Wow. Everything is new'. You feel like it's a life-changing event. Now I have the perspective of like, 'Yeah, I made it. Life goes on, career goes on. You can still have challenges after'," Auger-Aliassime explained.

"I see it as another step in my career, but not as like maybe as big of not an event, but as big in importance as it was the first time. Really I'm coming here like, okay, I'm trying to play good tennis, keep the progression I've had the last few months.

"But I know that if it doesn't go my way, still get ready for next season and other challenges coming. Not everything stops here, right?"