Felix Auger-Aliassime outlasts qualifier Aleksandar Kovacevic in third-set tiebreak to win Montpellier

In the second hour of the singles final at the Open Occitanie in Montpellier on Sunday, it looked as though American Aleksandar Kovacevic was a player of destiny. After being handled with ease by Felix Auger-Aliassime in the first set, he saved two championship points in the second to push the match the distance, and with the wind of six previous wins at his back, the world No. 102's flashing shotmaking continued to keep the former Top 10 player guessing.

Ultimately, though, the No. 2 seed stayed steady, and got the final word. Swatting aside the only break point he faced in the entire match, crucially at 5-5 in the decider, Auger-Aliassime took the long road to his second title of the season with a 6-2, 6-7(7), 7-6(2) triumph.

After two hours and 39 minutes, the victor dubbed it "the craziest final [he'd] played" in his career, "whether I won or lost."

"I started great, couldn't have gotten a better start, feeling good, but a credit to Aleks, he raised his level and I think it was a very high level on both ends," Auger-Aliassime said. "Serving well, toe-to-toe until the end, I think this match deserved to go three sets with the way he was playing in the second set."

After the mid-match escape, Kovacevic kept himself even with Auger-Aliassime throughout the third set, but he failed to take advantage at the one moment the Canadian blinked late in the deciding set, missing a return well long on the break point that would've given him an opportunity to serve for the title.

The tiebreak swiftly went Auger-Aliassime's way, and though he lost both points on serve to close his initial tiebreak lead from 3-0 to 3-2, he didn't lose another point.

"I think it tells how good the serving was today, from me and him as well," the Canadian added. "It was very solid serving, and until the end you think ok is anybody going to find solutions to go through. He was very close at the end, I had a match point in the second set, and it's the type of match that could go either way, really."

Kovacevic, who needed to play qualifying after his father and coach forgot to enter him into the tournament by the deadline, nonetheless dubbed the match "the most fun I've ever had on a tennis court in my life."

The 26-year-old had previously beaten three seeds, including No. 4 seed and defending champion Alexander Bublik and top seed Andrey Rublev, en route to his first tour-level final. He will be rewarded for his efforts next week, as he is set to rise to a career-high No. 75 in the ATP rankings.

"It was an honor to share the court with someone like Felix ... and other incredible players like Andrey," Kovacevic said.

"I did everything I could, left everything out there ... but it was an incredible match, and I'll never forget this match both good and bad."