The Canadian Felix Auger-Aliassime put an end to his curse of being a finalist and after subduing the Greek Stefanos Tsitsipas (6-4 and 6-2), he won the first title of his career in Rotterdam (The Netherlands). The 21-year-old Montreal player, ninth in the world, took an hour and 17 minutes to beat the tournament’s top seed who did not find a way to stop the thrust of Toni Nadal’s pupil.
Auger-Aliassime, who one after another had fallen in eight previous finals, including that of Rotterdam in 2020, surpassed by the Frenchman Gael Monfilsfinally achieved the first success for his history.
The Canadian hadn’t been able to find a way past the fourth-ranked player in the world to whom he had lost in the five previous meetings they had played. Three of them last year: in Acapulco, Barcelona and Cincinnati. The Greek always came out the winner.
Auger-Aliassime took a step forward who in the semifinals already showed signs of maturity by eliminating the Russian Andrey Rublev, defending champion and second favourite. In the final against Tsitsipas he encountered fewer difficulties than expected and clinched the trophy in just two sets.
Tsitsipas, unable to break his opponent’s serve, got tangled up in his first attempt at a hit in 2020. Semifinalists at the Australian Open, he faced in Rotterdam the goal of adding the eighth title of his career that did not come.
Opelka takes advantage of the ‘tie break’ to add his third title
The success in the ‘tie break’ provided the victory against Jenson Brooksby to Reilly Opelka (7-6 (5) and 7-6 (3)) who won the final of the Dallas tournament to achieve the third title of his career , the first in 2022. The duel between the two Americans fell on the side of the second favorite. Opelka, 23 in the world, scored a balanced clash and without break of service anywhere.
The Miami player, who had lost his only previous game to the 21-year-old Brooksby in Antwerp last year, took an hour and 54 minutes to add Dallas to his record. He had conquered Delray Beach in 2020 and New York a season earlier. What’s more, was a finalist for the Canadian Masters 1000 in 2021. Opelka, who closed the match with sixteen aces, he frustrated the intentions of his rival who wanted to get the first title of his career. He already accumulates two lost finals. In addition to this one in Dallas, the one in Newport last year.