Auger-Aliassime says he is hoping to do well at the Madrid Masters but admits he is keeping his expectations low. Auger-Aliassime, ranked at No 9 in the world, is set to play his first tournament since suffering a knee injury at the Miami Masters.

Previously, Auger-Aliassime was forced to withdraw from the Monte Carlo Masters and delay the start of his clay season. In Madrid, Auger-Aliassime is the seventh-seeded player and has a first-round bye. In the Madrid second round, Auger-Aliassime plays against either last week’s Banja Luka champion Dusan Lajovic or Jason Kubler.

“My ambitions are high but my expectations are low. In a way I hope to do really well and I’m confident that I can do it but at the same time I’m going to really expect the worst a little bit or expect that everything’s going to be really tough.

I think I’ll need my max focus and concentration from the first match. Every match is going to be tough, so if I can get through the early rounds and get some wins behind me, hopefully I’ll get far into the tournament and play well here,” Auger-Aliassime said, via Tennis Majors.

While being out for a month wasn’t ideal for Auger-Aliassime, it also had some positive sides to it. During his recovery process, Auger-Aliassime was able to relax and mentally recharge. “It’s been good, I’ve had time to stay at home a little bit, spend time away from the Tour and the stress of just playing matches all the time.

It’s kind of just relaxed me mentally, but then also (I) trained physically. I’ve had time, which is rare to go in the gym and work on other things, work on things on the court that I wanted to improve, while doing the rehab for my knee at the same time.

I think it’s been an important period. Hopefully that pays off in the weeks to come,” Auger-Aliassime said.