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Canada's Felix Auger-Aliassime poses with the trophy as he celebrates after winning the Rotterdam Open February 13, 2022. — Reuters pic
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ROTTERDAM, Feb 14 — Three years after making his ATP main draw debut in Rotterdam, Felix Auger-Aliassime’s career came full circle when he lifted his maiden tour title with a 6-4 6-2 victory over Greek top seed Stefanos Tsitsipas in the final on Sunday.
A title win has been a long time coming for the 21-year-old Canadian who has fallen at the final hurdle eight times before. Having beaten Andrey Rublev in the semi-final in three sets, he needed only 78 minutes to defeat Tsitsipas.
“It has not been the smoothest road since my first final three years ago,” Auger-Aliassime said.
“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.
“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. It is the happiest day of my career and hopefully it is the first of many to come.”
It was second time lucky for Auger-Aliassime in Rotterdam having lost the 2020 final to Gael Monfils. Auger-Aliassime fell in the quarter-finals of the Australian Open but started the season helping Canada win the ATP Cup in Sydney. — Reuters