Photo: European Open
Félix Auger-Aliassime’s stellar Fall indoor hard court season continued on Sunday as the 22-year-old Canadian captured his second ATP singles title in as many weeks and his third of the 2022 season at the European Open, an ATP 250 event in Antwerp, Belgium.
After being crowned champion in Florence one week ago, Auger-Aliassime is back on top again following a 6-3, 6-4 victory over American Sebastian Korda, ranked no. 36 in the world, in the 12th ATP final of his career. Both players were appearing in back-to-back finals.
Auger-Aliassime converted his first opportunity to break serve in the fifth game of the opening frame after incorporating some well-timed variety in his game. His performance on his own serve remained flawless en route to a first set win in just 35 minutes. Korda called for the trainer at the break to receive treatment on his shoulder.
It was more of the same in set two for the tournament’s second seed despite a slight blip in the radar in the third game when Auger-Aliassime faced break points for the first time since the quarter-finals following a few uncharacteristic errors, but he quickly righted the ship, erasing them quickly and efficiently. He utilized that momentum to convert a break point of his own in his next return game and rolled to the title once he gained his well-earned advantage. He put relentless pressure on Korda throughout the match as the result of some terrific ball striking and yet another flawless serving performance.
“It’s amazing to win again, back-to-back tournaments,” an ecstatic Auger-Aliassime said after the match. “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 win another title.”
This victory means that Auger-Aliassime will improve his ranking to no. 9 and his quest for a first ATP Finals qualification continues speeding down the right track. He’ll now move on to Basel, Switzerland to compete in the Swiss Indoors, an ATP 500 tournament. He is the third seed behind Carlos Alcaraz and Casper Ruud and will take on Swiss wild card Marc-Andrea Heusler in the opening round.
