<p>Felix Auger-Aliassime of Canada plays a backhand return to Alejandro Davidovich Fokina of Spain during their second round match at the Australian Open tennis championship in Melbourne, Australia, on January 15, 2025. THE CANADIAN PRESS/AP, Asanka Brendon Ratnayake</p>
March 01, 2025 - 9:41 AM
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates - Canada's Felix Auger-Aliassime fell short in earning a third ATP Tour title in 2025 on Saturday, losing 6-3, 6-3 to Greece's StefanosTsitsipas in the Dubai Tennis Championships final.
The Montreal native was ahead 3-2 in the opening set, but the turning point came in the seventh game when Tsitsipas won five straight points from 40/0 to break Auger-Aliassime’s serve and run away with the first set.
In the second set, Auger-Aliassime saved two break points in the third game, but was unable to convert the three he created. After tying it at 3-3, he surrendered the final three games to Tsitsipas.
"Tonight wasn't meant to be for me but that's congrats to Stefanos and his team, it's well deserved," Auger-Aliassime said post-match. "Big tournament, great level today, you know we've known each other for a long time and tonight you played at a very high level.
"I'll push to get better and hopefully we'll have more chances to play more finals in the future."
The 24-year-old Auger-Aliassime, the world No. 21, had four aces to two double faults and won 71 per cent of his first-serve points. He failed to break on all seven of his chances.
Tsitsipas, the world No. 11, had four aces and four doubles along with winning 83 per cent of his first-serve points. The 26-year-old converted on 3-of-6 break point opportunities.
Auger-Aliassime and Tsitsipas had met nine times before Saturday's final, with Tsitsipas leading 6-3.
Tsitsipas triumphed in their most recent meeting, the second round of the 2023 Paris Masters.
Prior to that, Auger-Aliassime claimed his first ATP Tour singles title by defeating Tsitsipas in straight sets in the 2022 Rotterdam Open final
Auger-Aliassime entered Saturday leading the ATP Tour in wins (16) this season, and had earned titles in Adelaide and Montpellier.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 1, 2025.
News from © The Canadian Press, 2025