Auger-Aliassime advances to Montpellier final with straight-sets win
Montreal native tops Jesper de Jong of the Netherlands in Open Occitanie tournament
Montreal's Felix Auger-Aliassime advanced to the final of the Open Occitanie tennis tournament with a 6-4, 7-6 (4) win over Jesper de Jong of the Netherlands on Saturday.
Auger-Aliassime, the second seed in Montpellier, France, reached his second final this season after winning his sixth ATP Tour title at the Adelaide International in January.
"The second set was very tricky, up and down," said Auger-Aliassime. "I started serving less good and kept him in the match, but in the end I was glad I was able to come back and win in two sets. Not every match is going to be a straight road forward, so to pull it through in straight sets is a great thing."
WATCH l Auger-Aliassime defeats De Jong in Montpellier:
He'll play Aleksandar Kovacevic of the United States in the final of the ATP 250 event.
Kovacevic upset top seed Andrey Rublev of Russia 7-5, 6-4 in the other semifinal to reach his first ATP title match.
"It seems like every day we have the same conversation about me playing the best match I ever played," Kovacevic said. "My level has definitely been good this week. Andrey is an incredible player, I have been watching him for years. Just stepping on the court with someone like this is a privilege.
"When you're an underdog, playing a Top 10 opponent like that, you're a lot more free. You have to go for it against these guys. I'm honoured to be on court with them, but if you don't show up they're going to take it, just like they always do."
Auger-Aliassime hit 12 aces and won 74 per cent of his first service points against De Jong.
He picked up his 52nd career indoor hard court win despite converting only two of 13 break points in the two-hour, three-minute match.
"I was very focused until the very end, until the last ball. I have lost matches like this where you miss the forehand and all of a sudden you're in a third set," said Auger-Aliassime. "So I tried to stay calm and very focused until the end."
The 24-year-old Canadian reached his 17th ATP final and improved to 9-2 this season.
He won four tour-level titles on indoor hard courts in 2022.
