Ninth time lucky as Auger-Aliassime wins maiden ATP title
Ninth time lucky as Auger-Aliassime wins maiden ATP title
Canada's Felix Auger-Aliassime ended his eight-final losing streak to capture his first ATP title in Rotterdam on Sunday with victory over world number four and top seed Stefanos Tsitsipas.
The 21-year-old triumphed 6-4, 6-2 in 78 minutes, backing up his semi-final win over second seed and defending champion Andrey Rublev.
"It has not been the smoothest road since my first final three years ago," Auger-Aliassime said during the trophy ceremony.
"It is an amazing day for me to get my first title and especially here. I played my first ATP main draw here a couple of years ago, so it is right I won my first title here."
Before Sunday, world number nine Auger-Aliassime held an 0-8 record in tour-level finals, failing even to win a single set.
However, he has been in solid form in 2022, helping Canada to the ATP Cup title in January, before he reached the quarter-finals at the Australian Open, where he pushed world number two Daniil Medvedev to five sets.
He now also boasts a season-leading 12 wins on tour.
Sunday's victory took his head-to-head record against Tsitsipas to 3-5. His last win over the 23-year-old Greek had come back in 2019 on grass at Queen's Club in London.
"I have a lot of good memories playing here in front of you, so thank you for making it a special week for me that I will remember for the rest of my life," Auger-Aliassime told the Rotterdam crowd.
"It's the happiest day of my career and hopefully it is the first of many to come."
U.Dumont--JdB
