Quebecer Félix Auger-Aliassime could not repeat his performance from last week when he secured his first career ATP singles title.
Third-seeded Auger-Aliassime lost 7-5, 7-6(4) to Russia’s Andrey Rublev in the final of the ATP 250 tournament in Marseille, France.
If the 21-year-old had taken the measure of Rublev last week in the semi-finals of the Rotterdam tournament, his opponent offered him better opposition this time.
Auger-Aliassime, however, never gave up. One game away from the second-set loss, he won 10 straight rallies to come back from a two-game deficit and push the inning to the tiebreaker.
The 24-year-old Russian, however, had no intention of escaping the opportunity to win a first tournament since Rotterdam in 2021. Even after being beaten by two Auger-Aliassime aces, he took advantage of his service advantage to confirm his victory.
“I had to take my game up a notch because otherwise I wouldn’t have had a chance against Felix,” admitted Rublev. When he was down 4-5, he started playing even better. »
“I thought we were going to go to the third set, but I managed to improve too. It was difficult towards the end. »
The duel ultimately lasted one hour, 56 minutes.
As he did against Greece’s Stefanos Tsitsipas in the Rotterdam final, Auger-Aliassime broke his opponent’s serve early in the duel to take a 2-0 lead. However, Rublev responded the next game by breaking the Quebecer’s serve in turn, to tie the game at 2-2 in the first set.
The Russian again broke Auger-Aliassime’s serve in the first set, which he eventually won 7-5 in 56 minutes.
After being broken once again early in the second set, Auger-Aliassime looked short of resources. However, he saved the day with a superb forehand on the line that allowed him to tie the game 3-3 in the second set.
Rublev seemed disappointed at the time, but he came to his senses as soon as he returned from the short break and won the next two games.
One game away from defeat, Auger-Aliassime gave everything to prolong the duel. He took a 40-0 lead on his serve, before forcing Rublev into the net to bring the second set to 4-5.
But the Quebecer was not satisfied. He won the next four games to break Rublev’s serve and tie the game. Unlike the first moments of the match, he was in perfect control, to the applause of the crowd, visibly impressed by his perseverance.
Rublev gave him a hard time in the next game, but Auger-Aliassime eventually managed to hold his serve to regain the lead.
The Russian still managed to push the set to a tiebreaker and win.
Last week in Rotterdam, the Quebecer won against Rublev in three sets of 6-7 (5), 6-4 and 6-2, before defeating Tsitsipas in the final to clinch his first singles title on the circuit. of ATP.
Auger-Aliassime had lost the first two clashes of his career against Rublev.
“We’ve had close encounters since 2018 with Felix,” Rublev said. He’s had a great start to the season and he’s one of the best players today. »
It was a 10and career final on the ATP circuit for Auger-Aliassime. The Quebecer, active on the circuit since 2017, had lost the first eight before his coronation in Rotterdam.