ANTWERP, Belgium — Canada's Felix Auger-Aliassime has been on quite a roll of late.
The Montreal native defeated Sebastian Korda of the United States 6-3, 6-4 to claim his second consecutive ATP Tour title win at the European Open on Sunday. Auger-Aliassime entered the tournament having won the Firenze Open last week.
“It’s amazing you know, to win again, back-to-back tournaments, and to win for the first time here in Antwerp against a player like Sebi (Korda) who is a fantastic player — one of the greats to come,” Auger-Aliassime said in his post-match interview.
“And it was a tough week really. I had to play many tough matches — tough physically. So, to push through and win today, it was amazing. I’m just super thrilled and happy to get another title.”
Auger-Aliassime hit seven aces, five of which came in the opening set, and won 85 per cent of his first-serve points in the one hour, 25-minute match. The 22-year-old saved two of Korda's four break point chances while converting on both of his own opportunities.
Coming into the match, Auger-Aliassime had only been broken once in three matches.
The Canadian now holds a 2-1 edge over Korda in career matchups. The last time the two met, Korda defeated Auger-Aliassime 6-2, 6-2 at the Estoril Open in April.
"You got me good last time we played, so I’m happy I was able to get a win over you," Auger-Aliassime told Korda after the match. "You’re such a great player, so keep going like this and good luck to you and your team for the rest of the year."
Auger-Aliassime, ranked 10th in the world, is now up to three ATP Tour titles for his career, having also won the Rotterdam Open in February. After losing his first eight career ATP Tour finals matches, he has since won three of four finals with all of his victories being in straight sets.
In the opening set, Auger-Aliassime earned his first service break at 3-2 where he was able to strengthen his lead using a drop shot, followed by a forehand winner down the line. After giving up one more game, Auger-Aliassime held to love in the final two to win the set.
Tied 2-2 in the second, Auger-Aliassime broke Korda's serve to take the lead. Having opened the set down 2-1, Auger-Aliassime never surrendered the lead again once up 3-2.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 23, 2022.
The Canadian Press
