Photo credit: Occitanie Open Facebook
Felix Auger-Aliassime is peerless beneath the ceiling.
Today, Auger-Aliassime rose up to become Canadian king in Montpellier.
The top-seeded Auger-Aliassime won the final five points in a row topping Adrian Mannarino 6-3, 7-6(4) to successfully defend his Montpellier title and make majestic history in the process.
It is Auger-Aliassime’s ninth career crown—most by any Canadian man in the Open Era—including his eighth indoor championship. Auger-Aliassime broke the Canadian championship record he shared with former world No. 3 Milos Raonic, who officially retired last month.
The victory vaults Auger-Aliassime, who dropped serve only once in the tournament, to No. 6 in the rankings.
“We’re an individual sport, but there’s a lot of people behind me both here and at home,” Auger-Aliassime said afterward. “I’m not fully French, but I do speak French and I feel really welcome here. Thanks to the crowd here for the support. I always feel it in France and it’s a pleasure for me.”
The 25-year-old Auger-Aliassime leads all ATP players in indoor wins this decade (89) and knocked off three Frenchmen in a row—sixth-seeded Arthur Fils, qualifier Titouan Droguet and Mannarino—becoming the second man to successfully defend Montpellier since Richard Gasquet in 2015-2016.
On this day, Auger-Aliassime, who retired from his Australian Open opener vs. Nuno Borges due to cramping, served 78 percent, cracked 13 aces against 1 double fault and did not face a break point. over his last two matches, Auger-Aliassime hammered 33 aces against only 1 double fault.
In a scorching start, Auger-Aliassime stormed through eight straight points backing up the love break with a shutout hold for 2-0.
Commanding the center of the court, the top-seeded Canadian cracked crosscourt forehands and even banged his backhand down the line. Auger-Aliassime won three of the first six games at love.