For the third time this year, Felix Auger-Aliassime of Montreal, Quebec has won a tournament on the ATP Tour. On Sunday, Auger-Aliassime defeated Sebastian Korda of the United States 6-3, 6-4 in the final of the European Open in Antwerp, Belgium.
A major reason for Auger-Aliassime’s win came down to the serve. Auger-Aliassime had seven aces, while Korda only had one. Auger-Aliassime also broke Korda one time in each set. The Canadian won 62 of the 108 total points.
This was the second straight ATP Tour 250 event that Auger-Aliassime was victorious in. A week ago, he won the Firenze Open in Florence, Italy by beating J.J. Wolf of the United States 6-4, 6-4. Auger-Aliassime’s first ATP tournament win came earlier this year when he beat Stefanos Tsitsipas of Greece, 6-4, 6-2 in the final of Rotterdam.
In Antwerp this week, Auger-Aliassime was the number two seed, only behind Hubert Hurkacz of Poland, who lost in the quarterfinals to Dominic Thiem of Austria. Auger-Aliassime got a first round bye. He then beat Manuel Guinard of France 6-3, 6-3 in the second round, fifth seed Daniel Evans of Great Britain 4-6, 7-6, 6-2 in the quarterfinals, and Richard Gasquet of France 7-6, 7-6 in the semifinals.
Auger-Aliassime is currently ninth in the world. With the wins in Florence and Antwerp, he improves his chances of playing in the ATP Finals for the first time next month. The 2022 ATP Finals are in Turin, Italy from November 13-20.
