MONTPELLIER — Canadian tennis star Felix Auger-Aliassime defended his Open Occitanie title with a 6-3, 7-6 (4) win over France’s Adrian Mannarino in Sunday’s final.
Auger-Aliassime scored five straight points to take the third set tiebreak, including his 13th ace of the match to go up 5-4 before winning the next two points on return.
The six-foot-four Canadian’s serve was in top form, as he won 87 per cent of first-serve points.
“Adrian is always a really tough opponent to play,” Auger-Aliassime said. “For all players, there’s a lot of respect for him and his career. I knew it was going to be a tough match today, and I’m very happy to win here again.
“It’s amazing to win here again, I’m thrilled with my whole week and especially today.”
Auger-Aliassime became just the second man to successfully defend his title in Montpellier, joining Richard Gasquet.
It was the ninth tour-level singles title of the 25-year-old from Montreal, making him the Canadian with the most men’s singles titles in the Open Era, passing recently retired Milos Raonic.
He entered the tournament as the top seed and ranked eighth in the world.
He also extended his lead as the player with the most indoor wins on the ATP Tour this decade to 89. World No. 2 Jannik Sinner is second with 83.
Auger-Aliassime improved to 2-1 against Mannarino, who entered the tournament as a wild card.
Mannarino reached a career-high ranking of No. 17 early in 2024 before a slump in form saw him drop out of the top 100. He was ranked 70th heading into this tournament.
The Canadian Press