Felix Auger-Aliassime reaches 17th final with renewed indoor prowess in Montpellier | ATP Tour

Match Report

Auger-Aliassime reaches 17th final with renewed indoor prowess in Montpellier

Kovacevic stuns Rublev, advances to maiden ATP Tour final

February 01, 2025

Felix Auger-Aliassime is reigniting his indoor form this week at the Open Occitanie in Montpellier, where he is into his second ATP Tour final of 2025.

The second seed delivered a clinical display when under pressure to oust Jesper de Jong 6-4, 7-6(4) on Saturday and reach his first indoor championship match since he won Basel in 2023. Auger-Aliassime recovered from a break deficit in the second set, where he also saved two set points, to move into a 17th career final (6-10) after two hours, two minutes.

“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.”

Taking care of business @felixtennis takes down de Jong to record his 52nd indoor win since the start of the 2022 season @OpenOccitanie | #openoccitanie pic.twitter.com/iT42brFfUs

— ATP Tour (@atptour) February 1, 2025

After suffering a back injury at the end of last season, which forced him out of the Rolex Paris Masters, Auger-Aliassime has begun the year with a renewed vigour. The 24-year-old won his sixth ATP Tour title at the Adelaide International in January and holds a 9-2 record in 2025 heading into the Montpellier final on Sunday. He is seeking his first multi-title season since he lifted four trophies, all indoors, in 2022.

In Saturday’s semi-final clash with De Jong, Auger-Aliassime held his nerve when it mattered most. The Canadian No. 1 lost his way in an error-strewn second set, where he was broken to love and forced to save two set points, but produced an emphatic response in the tie-break to seal a straight-sets victory.

“[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, who squandered a two-sets-to-love lead against Alejandro Davidovich Fokina in the second round at the Australian Open last month. “So I tried to stay calm and very focused until the end.”

In Sunday’s final, Auger-Aliassime will face qualifier Aleksandar Kovacevic, who stunned top seed and World No. 10 Andrey Rublev 7-5, 6-4 for the biggest win of his career. In a match dominated by baseline exchanges, Kovacevic produced consistent depth from both wings to irritate his opponent en route to reaching his maiden tour-level final.

“It seems like every day we have the same conversation about me playing the best match I ever played,” Kovacevic said in his on-court interview. “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.”

 

With his 95-minute win over Rublev, Kovacevic climbs to No. 75 in the PIF ATP Live Rankings, three spots off his career high. The 26-year-old produced a gutsy display throughout his maiden Lexus ATP Head2Head meeting with Rublev, but was particularly fired up in the second set. Kovacevic saved a break point with a big second serve in the ninth game before reeling off four of the last five points on return in the following game to seal victory.