Auger-Aliassime beats Tstitsipas in the final and conquers Rotterdam

Felix-Auger Aliassime will never really forget this first time. In fact, it took nine attempts for him to be able to lift his first trophy at the ATP level. A milestone that the Canadian, one of the most precocious talents on the international circuit, had been chasing from the age of 18, precisely from February 2019, when in Rio he played his first career final. World number four Stefanos Tstisipas was defeated in the decisive act of the Rotterdam tournament, completely dominated with a score of 6-4; 6-2, matured in an hour and 17 minutes of play.

THE MATCH

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The eighth challenge among the Top 10 of the new generation begins with a quick break by Aliassime who, thanks to the right intensity, accompanied by solidity in the service (100% of points won with the first), has no particular problems in countering the game of the n.4 in the world and to preserve the advantage for the whole partial, closed with the score of 6-4. This is a rather significant figure, as in the previous eight finals Aliassime had not won even a set. The Canadian is confirmed relentless even in the second half, while a bewildered Tstistipas continues to struggle to find the right balance and to concede too much to serve. The Greek is in fact again forced to chase immediately, suffering a zero break at the opening. Near the double break in the third game, the 23-year-old from Athens finds the strength to react but a few games away the opportunity returns more tempting than before for the Canadian who in the fifth game, thanks to a backhand sent on the net by Tstitsipas, takes off to 4-1. At that point, two winning turns are enough to seal the company

THE ACE UNCLE TONI

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To contribute to the growth of the Canadian, the choice to add a new professional profile to his team. In fact, the collaboration between Felix-Auger Aliassime and the most famous uncle in the tennis world, Toni Nadal, dates back to April 2021. Flanked by coach Fréderic Fontang, experienced uncle Toni joined the world’s number 9 team with the aim of developing its potential. Potential gained in the last year, in which the 21-year-old from Montreal found the constancy he needed and which allowed him to peep into the Top 10, to reach the first semifinal in a Grand Slam tournament (Us Open 2021) and to make the Rotterdam tournament his own.

UPCOMING EVENTS

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The next stop for the new ATP champion is the Dubai tournament – where i comeback by Djokovic and Sinner – before they all fly to the United States where the protagonists of the circuit will compete in the fight for the Indian Wells title (7-21 March), a tournament that inaugurates the series of seasonal Masters 1000. The finalist Tsitsipas, on the other hand, is registered for the Acapulco event, scheduled from 21 to 27 February. In the’entry list the event also included the other Top 10 Daniil Medvedev, Rafa Nadal, Alexander Zverev and Matteo Berrettini.