Stefanos Tsitsipas wins Dubai, finally capturing first ATP 500 title of career

Stefanos Tsitsipas added one of the (very) few missing line items to his career resume in Dubai on Saturday night, defeating Felix Auger-Aliassime, 6-3, 6-3, for the first ATP 500 title of his career.

The Greek had already won seven ATP 250s, three ATP Masters 1000s and even an ATP Finals title, but had never won an ATP 500, despite reaching 11 previous finals at that level—and going 0-11.

But it was 12th time lucky as he outdid the Canadian in straight sets for the 12th ATP title of his career, which will also propel the former No. 3 back into the Top 10 for the first time since last June.

TSITSIPAS CAREER ATP TITLES BY LEVEL:

• 7 ATP 250 titles (2018 Stockholm, 2019 Marseille, 2019 Estoril, 2020 Marseille, 2021 Lyon, 2022 Mallorca, 2023 Los Cabos)
• 1 ATP 500 title (2025 Dubai)
• 3 ATP Masters 1000 titles (2021 Monte Carlo, 2022 Monte Carlo, 2024 Monte Carlo)
• 1 ATP Finals title (2019)

Now the only category of tour-level title missing from Tsitsipas' resume is a Grand Slam, and he's come very close before, reaching two finals at 2021 Roland Garros and the 2023 Australian Open.

Tsitsipas was in a little bit of trouble early on in Saturday’s final, facing double break point serving at 1-2 in the first set, but once he got out of that he never really looked back, grabbing the first break of the match for 4-3, then breaking a second time to close out the first set.

Then, after seven straight holds, Tsitsipas got the only break of the second set for a 5-3 lead and served the match out at love.

He finished it off with a big ace up the T.

The key difference in the match might have been break points—Tsitsipas went 3/6, while Auger-Aliassime was 0/7.

“There’s nothing that I can say that ensured the win today, it was just pure fighting and trying my best to avoid that third final loss,” said Tsitsipas, who was a runner-up in Dubai in 2019 and 2020.

“It was nerve-wracking. I had a great opponent on the other side of the net, and I knew it was a difficult task, so I’m just proud of the way that I handled the pressure and performed in those crucial moments.”

At the end of the day, Tsitsipas extended his significant head-to-head advantage over Auger-Aliassime. The Canadian had won their first two career meetings, and actually their first five career meetings if you include three clashes in the juniors—but the Greek has now won seven of their last eight meetings, a stretch that dates back to 2019.

Tsitsipas will now return to the Top 10 for the first time since Roland Garros last year, though he's been hovering just outside the elite ever since—he's spent the entire last nine months in the No. 11-13 range. He's projected to rise from No. 11 to No. 9 on Monday.

And Auger-Aliassime, a former world No. 6, will now make his return to the Top 20. He's projected to rise from No. 21 to No. 18.