Canadian tennis champion Felix Auger-Aliassime had a great end to his season by winning his third title in three weeks with his victory over Denmark’s Holger Rune, 6-3, 7-5, on Sunday, October 30 in the final of the ATP 500 tournament in Basel.
Although accustomed to losing in the finals – he had already lost eight finals since the beginning of his career – the current world No. 9 has become a machine for collecting titles in 2022, winning the tournaments in Rotterdam in February, Florence and Antwerp this month.
In a stunning upset of world No. 1 Carlos Alcaraz in the semifinals, Auger-Aliassime (22) won his 13th consecutive title and is one step closer to qualifying for the Masters Series, which runs from November 13-20 in Turin.
However, the young Rune (19) also had a string of successes, winning nine in a row and winning the title in Stockholm against the Greek Stefanos Tsitsipas. Coached by Patrick Mouratoglou since the beginning of the month, the Dane (25th) will break into the Top 20 of the ATP rankings for the first time on Monday, October 31.
The young champions, Rune and Auger-Aliassime, had not been broken since the beginning of the tournament, reciting their tennis on the indoor hard courts in Basel. On Sunday, October 30, Rune lost his first serve in his second game, allowing his opponent to break at 3-1 and keep the lead until the end of the first set.
He was pushed around in the second set, with the Quebecer having to save two break points at 3-4. He then showed his composure with two aces, putting a grimace on his rival’s face, half-exasperated, half-impressed.
Rune, surely a little too young, was frustrated, fueled by the success, ball length and acceleration of F2A, who had 34 winners and 19 points (out of 23) won at the net in total.
The Canadian, Auger-Aliassime, broke at the perfect moment, 5-5, before quietly serving for the title and heading into the Paris Masters 1000 with a lot of confidence, but with three weeks of competition left in his legs.
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