Felix Auger-Aliassime beats top-seeded Tsitsipas to win 1st title

Felix Auger-Aliassime of Canada celebrates winning against Stefanos Tsitsipas of Greece in two sets, 6-4, 6-2, in their final men's singles match of the ABN AMRO world tennis tournament at Ahoy Arena in Rotterdam, Netherlands, on Feb. 13, 2022. (Peter Dejong / AP)

ROTTERDAM, Netherlands -

Felix Auger-Aliassime won his first career title at the ninth attempt, upsetting top-seeded Stefanos Tsitsipas 6-4, 6-2 in the Rotterdam final on Sunday to deny his opponent an eighth title.

Victory at the indoor tournament came as a relief for the 21-year-old Canadian after losing his previous eight finals dating back to 2019.

"It has not been the smoothest road since my first final," 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."

The third-seeded Auger-Aliassime hit seven aces and won 93% of his first serve points, compared to just one ace for Tsitsipas.

The big-serving Greek was unusually poor on his serve with four double-faults and only 31 of 55 first serves landing in. His second serve let him down, too, and he won only 33% of points on it.

It was Auger-Aliassime's third win in eight matches against Tsitsipas, and he did not face a break point in a dominant performance where he broke Tsitsipas three times.

"He was playing very good tennis, producing good shots and serving incredibly well throughout the match. I wasn't able to respond," Tsitsipas said. "I wasn't able to respond. I wasn't able to serve well today and my percentages were so low."

The 23-year-old Tsitsipas dropped to 7-11 in finals.