Felix Auger-Aliassime finally cracked the winning code on Sunday as he captured his maiden ATP Tour title at the ABN Amro World Tennis Tournament.

Competing in his ninth tour-level final, the third seed stepped up and handled the pressure, overcoming Stefanos Tsitsipas 6-4, 6-2 in 78 minutes to triumph in Rotterdam.

Auger-Aliassime, who edged Andrey Rublev in three sets to reach the championship match at the ATP 500 event, was relentless from the start against the Greek in a dominant performance. The 21-year-old fired his aggressive groundstrokes through the court and targeted the World No. 4’s backhand from the baseline to great effect to earn the biggest win of his career.

“It has not been the smoothest road since my first final three years ago,” Auger-Aliassime said during the trophy ceremony. “It is an amazing day for me to get my first title and especially here. I played my first ATP main draw here a couple of years ago, so it is right I won my first title here.”

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Prior to his showdown against Tsitsipas, the Canadian held an 0-8 record in tour-level finals and had not won a set in any of those matches.

However, following title match defeats in Melbourne and Stuttgart last season, Auger-Aliassime had showed signs he was close to jumping this final hurdle. The World No. 9 helped guide Canada to the ATP Cup title in January, before he reached the quarter-finals at the Australian Open, where he pushed Daniil Medvedev to five sets.

Having now broken his trophy duck, Auger-Aliassime has reduced his ATP Head2Head deficit against Tsitsipas to 3-5. It is the first time the third seed has defeated the World No. 4 since 2019, when he downed the 23-year-old on grass at The Queen’s Club. With his victory, Auger-Aliassime has also gained revenge for his defeat to Tsitsipas in the final in Marseille in 2020. 

“I have a lot of good memories playing here in front of you, so thank you for making it a special week for me that I will remember for the rest of my life,” Auger-Aliassime said. “It is the happiest day of my career and hopefully it is the first of many to come.”

In a strong start, Auger-Aliassime quickly found his range, pinning the Greek behind the baseline as he looked to get the first strike away in the rallies. The Canadian’s heavy-hitting resulted in him breaking Tsitsipas in the opening game and from there he did not look back, winning 100 per cent (16/16) of his first-serve points in the set to move ahead.

Fuelled with confidence, Auger-Aliassime then pressed his foot further on the accelerator as he continued to clean lines and pull the Greek from corner to corner, surging into a 5-1 lead. The 21-year-old, who did not face a break point in the match, then kept his nerve to seal his victory on serve.

Tsitsipas was aiming to clinch his eighth tour-level title on Sunday, but first since May, when he lifted the trophy in Lyon. The World No. 4 has still yet to win an ATP 500 crown though.

“He played a really good match, producing really good shorts and serving well the whole match,” Tsitsipas said. “I wasn’t able to serve well at all today. He played very well.”

Earlier this season, the 2019 Nitto ATP Finals champion made a successful return from an elbow injury that plagued him at the end of last season by advancing to the semi-finals at the Australian Open.

Did You Know?
It was the second time Auger-Aliassime had competed in the championship match in Rotterdam, having fallen to Gael Monfils in 2020.

Robin Haase and Matwe Middelkoop captured their fourth tour-level title as a team on Sunday, edging Lloyd Harris and Tim Puetz 4-6, 7-6(5), 10-5 at the ABN Amro World Tennis Tournament.

Playing on home soil in Rotterdam, the Dutchmen raised their level in the crucial moments, hitting aggressive returns, accurate serves and precise volleys to triumph after one hour and 33 minutes.

“It’s an unbelievable feeling,” Haase said during the post-match press conference. “I think we won three titles before this one and those were all 250s, now a 500 which is more special and at home which makes it even more special. [It is] just fantastic and I think I can speak for both of us that we are extremely happy.”

Stepping up under pressure has been a theme for Haase and Middelkoop this week. The wild cards had won Match Tie-breaks against Belgian pair Sander Gille and Joran Vliegen and third seeds Nicolas Mahut and Fabrice Martin en route to the championship match at the ATP 500 event.

With their victory, it is the first time Haase and Middelkoop have clinched a tour-level title as a team since 2018, when they captured trophies in Pune, Sofia and Umag. Individually, Haase, 34, has now earned seven tour-level doubles titles, while Middelkoop, 38, has clinched 12 tour-level crowns.

“The fact that we already had such a good run in 2018 and this year we did it again, plus the fact that we beat some top teams, it feels really amazing,” Middelkoop added. “And the fact that we are also did it in Rotterdam, which is a home tournament for us is super special. I was a ball boy here and now being a trophy holder, and being on the billboards is something very special. I will never forget this moment ever.”

in a hard-fought match against Harris and Puetz, the Dutchmen fired eight aces and twice recovered from squandering a break advantage in the second set to eventually seal their win.

Harris and Puetz dropped just one set en route to the final as they teamed for the first time this week. Harris was competing in his maiden ATP Tour doubles final, whereas Puetz is a six-time champion at this level.

The Buenos Aires crowd will have two Argentines to support in the doubles final, but their home heroes will be on opposite sides of the net.

Horacio Zeballos and Italy’s Fabio Fognini advanced on Saturday to book their spot in the Argentina Open final against Friday winners Santiago Gonzalez of Mexico and Andres Molteni. The second seeds defeated Ariel Behar and Gonzalo Escobar, 4-6, 6-2, 10-8, in their second straight Match Tie-break victory.

Fognini and Zeballos surrendered a 5-0 lead in the decisive tie-break, but responded by winning the last two points of the contest to advance. The Italian/Argentine pairing won 71 per cent of their first-serve points in the match and regrouped after conceding two breaks in the opening set.

For former doubles World No. 7 Fognini, it’s a second ATP Tour doubles final on the young season. He teamed with Simone Bolelli to reach the Sydney final in January. His most recent doubles title came in 2018 alongside compatriot Matteo Berrettini in St. Petersburg.

Zeballos is the current doubles World No. 6 and reached a career-high of No. 3 in 2019. The 36-year-old has 18 career tour-level doubles titles, including two Masters wins in 2021 (Madrid, Cincinnati) with Marcel Granollers. Granollers and Zeballos reached the Australian Open semi-finals in January before bowing out to eventual champions Thanasi Kokkinakis and Nick Kyrgios.

Dutch Duo Haase/Middelkoop Reach Rotterdam Final
There will also be home representation in the Rotterdam doubles final, thanks to a second consecutive Match Tie-break victory from Robin Haase and Matwe Middelkoop in Saturday’s semis.

The unseeded pairing defeated the third-seeded French team of Nicolas Mahut and Fabrice Martin, 7-6(5), 2-6, 10-6, to reach their first ATP Tour final together since 2019 at the ABN Amro World Tennis Tournament. They are seeking their first title as a pair since 2018, when they won three.

After a straight-set dismissal of the top seeds Nikola Mektic and Mate Pavic in their opening match, Haase/Middelkoop beat Belgians Sander Gille and Joran Vliegen in a Match Tie-Break to reach the semi-finals.

The Dutchmen were at their best at the most crucial moments on Saturday, advancing despite trailing in both tie-breaks and claiming just a single break of serve on seven opportunities. From 4-5 down in the decider, they won six of the match’s last seven points, including the last four on the trot.

Another unseeded team awaits in the final. Lloyd Harris and Tim Puetz also went the distance in a 7-6(3), 4-6, 10-7 win over fourth seeds Wesley Koolhof and Neal Skupski to reach the championship match.

Top seeds Arevalo/Rojer knocks off Americans in Dallas
Marcelo Arevalo and Jean-Julien Rojer have not dropped a set on their way to the Dallas Open final, but just one of those frames was settled in fewer than 12 games.

In Saturday’s semi-finals, the top seeds earned a 7-5, 7-6(4) victory over Americans Sam Querrey and Jackson Withrow to extend their tie-break record to 3-0 on the week. After contesting their second semi-final of 2022 (Melbourne), Arevalo and Rojer are through to their first title match of the young season. They’re seeking a second title as a team following a 2021 Winston-Salem triumph.

The Salvadoran/Dutch duo awaits the winner of the second semifinal: John Isner and Jack Sock vs. Lloyd Glasspool and Harri Heliovaara.

Reilly Opelka and John Isner played the longest tour-level singles tie-break in the history of the ATP Tour (since 1990) on Saturday evening. Opelka won it 24/22 to clinch a 7-6(7), 7-6(22) victory against Isner and with it a spot in the Dallas Open final.

Opelka saved 10 set points before finally converting his eighth match point with a backhand passing shot up the line in the forecourt.

“It was bizarre. It’s just next point, kind of back to the guessing game. I’ve got to take care of what I do and hopefully guess right. And I did. I guessed wrong a lot, obviously,” Opelka said. “He was in more points than I was. I really hit some big shots, I stayed tough, I also served extremely well. I was very clutch.”

Twelve consecutive sets in the Opelka-Isner ATP Head2Head rivalry have gone to a tie-break, with Opelka winning nine of them. 

“At a certain point it just becomes back and forth, but I also had a set point on my serve,” Isner said. “Couldn’t convert. I probably had an 85 per cent chance to win that point on first serve if you look at the stats, maybe more. And [it] didn’t happen. Then it became the back and forth out there after that point. I actually felt like I was the one getting more returns in play and I just tightened up a bit when I did get returns back in play and got it to neutral.”

Longest Tour-Level Singles Tie-Breaks (since 1990)

Before Saturday evening, the longest tie-break had lasted 38 points. That has happened on seven occasions, most recently in Auckland in 2020, when Leonardo Mayer took a 20/18 tie-break against Marco Cecchinato. The other players who have won tie-breaks by that score are Andy Murray (2017 Dubai), Jo-Wilfried Tsonga (2007 Australian Open), Jose Acasuso (2006 Toronto), Roger Federer (2004 Tennis Masters Cup) and Goran Ivanisevic (1993 US Open and 1997 Queen’s Club).

Reilly Opelka and John Isner have played their fair share of tie-breaks, but they’ve never been involved in one like this.

In the longest tie-break in a tour-level match since the start of the ATP Tour in 1990, Opelka won a 24-22 marathon to edge his compatriot on Saturday in the Dallas Open semi-finals. On his eighth match point, Opelka’s mini-break ended a run of 26 straight points on serve. Prior to that, he saved 10 set points on his way to a thrilling 7-6(7), 7-6(22) victory.

“I lost track,” Opelka said when asked to describe the tie-break, referring to the unprecedented seven changes of end. “At one point it was 21-all… that’s something I’ve never seen before, but if it was going to happen, it certainly would have been in this match.

“It just shows how clutch he is,” he said of Isner’s effort. “I had some house money being up a set. He didn’t, and he hit some unbelievable spots on his serve down match point.”

Opelka moves on to his fourth tour-level final with the win. The Americans have now played 12 consecutive tie-break sets in their ATP Head2Head series, with Opelka winning their past four meetings to improve to 4-1 in the matchup. There have been no breaks of serve in their past 98 games.

A truly insane tie-break to end this clash 😮 @ReillyOpelka saves 🔟 set points before ousting Isner 7-6(7) 7-6(22) to reach the final in Dallas.#DALOpen pic.twitter.com/z6Ca7n4rz3

— Tennis TV (@TennisTV) February 13, 2022

Opelka fired 39 aces in the match, a two-sets record since the stat was first kept in 1991, and not far shy of the record 45 aces in a best-of-three match. He is yet to face a break point in Dallas. Isner tallied 21 aces of his own, and both men won more than 85 per cent of their first-serve points in a match that did not see a break point.

The marathon tie-break was eventful throughout. Early on it produced a stretch of five points that saw four mini-breaks. They again traded mini-breaks from 8-8, as both men came up with backhand passes and Opelka saved a set point on the return. From there, it all went the way of the server until Opelka claimed a historic win with another backhand pass, ending what he called “a second-set breaker that felt like a third and fourth set.”

Head2Head @ReillyOpelka vs @JohnIsner
2022 @DALOpenTennis SF: Opelka 7-6(7) 7-6(22)
2019 @ATLOpenTennis 2R: Opelka 7-6(2) 6-7(5) 7-6(5)
2019 NY Open SF: Opelka 6-7(8) 7-6(14) 7-6(4)
2019 @AustralianOpen 1R: Opelka 7-6(4) 7-6(6) 6-7(4) 7-6(5)
2016 Atlanta SF: Isner 6-7(5) 6-4 6-2 https://t.co/Uwydg3iaxw

— ATP Media Info (@ATPMediaInfo) February 13, 2022

Opelka will face Jenson Brooksby in the title match after the 21-year-old saved four match points to edge Marcos Giron, 6-4, 6-7(4), 7-6(5), in the longest Dallas match of the week at just under three hours.

The 2021 ATP Newcomer of the Year is seeking his first ATP Tour title in his second final, while Giron was denied his maiden final appearance. Brooksby was competing in his fourth semi-final in six ATP Tour appearances.

The match initially had the makings of a routine win, as Brooksby hit a screaming forehand pass to secure a break advantage at 3-1 in the second set. The hot shot provoked a roar from the fourth seed, but his momentum stalled soon after. 

From 1-4 down, Giron began to take more chances with his baseline game and got his reward with a break back. The seventh seed continued to force the issue and was able to frustrate Brooksby in a tie-break that featured just three mini-breaks.

“I thought I competed really well,” Brooksby said, assessing the match as a whole, “but I just needed to be more positive with myself, which is something I’m working on.”

Giron rode that momentum into the third but could not convert a break point in a four-deuce second game. Brooksby was back to his steady self as he created a 15/40 opening at 2-all, but was left to rue a missed second-serve return off the backhand as Giron kept his nose in front.

There were no further break chances until the 12th game of the set, when some untimely Brooksby errors gave Giron four match points, all unclaimed. A brilliant Brooksby pass brought up his first game point of the four-deuce game, and he took it to set up a tie-break finale.

After Brooksby sailed a tired-looking forehand slice to fall a mini-break behind at 3-4, he snapped back into gear for an aggressive final flurry, winning four of the match’s final five points to advance.

Asked about his fitness following the nearly three-hour contest, Brooksby gave a positive report: “Pretty good actually. Usually I think I’d be a little more beat up, but at least right now I’m feeling good body-wise.”

The result will likely propel Brooksby into the Top 50; one year ago, he was outside the Top 300.

Brooksby and Opelka have just one ATP Head2Head meeting to date, with Brooksby taking a 6-4, 6-4 win in October in Antwerp, also on indoor hard courts. Looking ahead to a potential matchup with Brooksby, Opelka said the rising star is “one of my favourite players to watch, probably my least favourite player to play.”

Felix Auger-Aliassime is one step close to finally capturing his maiden tour-level title after an impressive comeback win over defending champion Andrey Rublev at the ABN Amro World Tennis Tournament in Rotterdam.

The third seed seemed under pressure for much of the semi-final clash before accelerating to a 6-7(5), 6-4, 6-2 win on Saturday evening.

“It was a close second set,” said Auger-Aliassime after the match. “I played one really strong game, finished it off well on my serve and then after the third started I felt really good physically, felt like I was able to put pressure on him and move him around, and then things got better and better.”

There are just two places between World No. 7 Rublev and No. 9 Auger-Aliassime in the ATP Rankings and a tight encounter reflected that. But the Canadian found a way to raise his game at big moments to secure his first win over the Russian.

“It’s always a great feeling, it’s kind of a little milestone when you beat a player that you’ve always lost to before, especially top players and I think it shows I’ve improved my game, I’m a more complete player.

“Again today I served well when I needed to. I came up with some good shots, especially at the end of the second set. I really needed to stick in there and give myself a chance and then to finish the way I did against a player like Andrey was great. The third set was one of my best this week.”

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Rublev came into the semi-finals having not dropped serve in his opening three matches in Rotterdam. and he showed real composure under pressure to maintain that record in the first set. He recovered from 0/40 down in both the sixth and 12th games as Auger-Aliassime was unable to convert.

After saving a fourth set point to level at 6-6 with a stunning backhand down the line, Rublev then enjoyed a fast start to the tie-break, surging to a 3/0 lead. Auger-Aliassime was able to peg it back to 5/5, but then struck a backhand into the net to gift Rublev his first set point, an opportunity the Russian gratefully accepted.

Rublev seemed in control but once Auger-Aliassime recovered from 0/40 to level at 3-3 in the second set, there was a clear shift in momentum. The Russian missed an easy forehand to finally surrender his serve in Rotterdam as the Canadian broke for 5-4 before holding to level up proceedings.

The sudden turnaround seemed to affect Rublev’s concentration. The Russian saved break points in his opening service game of the decider, but could not repeat the trick in either the third or fifth games of the set, as Auger-Aliassime found consistency in his groundstrokes.

The young Canadian went on to seal an impressive victory in two hours and 21 minutes, having blasted 41 winners, including 11 aces.

His opponent in the championship match will be World No. 4 Stefanos Tsitsipas. The Greek overcame a scare before ending the dream run of Czech qualifier Jiri Lehecka with a 4-6, 6-4, 6-2 win earlier on Saturday. Tsitsipas leads Auger-Aliassime 5-2 in their ATP Head2Head series 5-2.

Auger-Aliassime holds a 0-8 record in tour-level finals, but will do everything he can to break his duck on Sunday. “Hopefully all the stars are aligned,” he said, “but for my part I just need to play with no regrets, bring my best intensity and focus, give it my all and we’ll see what the outcome is, but I’m confident I can pull this through.”