Tsitsipas defeats Auger-Aliassime to complete Marseille title defense

Second seed Stefanos Tsitsipas successfully defended an ATP title for the first time on Sunday, defeating seventh seed Felix Auger-Aliassime, 6-3, 6-4, in Marseille.

World No. 6 Tsitsipas entered the week with a disappointing 3-4 record, but for the second straight season, walked away with the Open 13 Provence crown without dropping a set. He notched his second consecutive victory over the Canadian, winning 78 percent of his first serve points in the 86-minute victory. The pair previously met three times in 2019, with Auger-Aliassime posting wins at Indian Wells and Queen's Club, before the Greek prevailed in Shanghai.

"I am proud of the fact that mentally I didn’t even crack, not once. That was really good," Tsitsipas said. "Although I got broken, I wouldn’t say that that was a mental lapse. I am very happy with my mental state throughout the whole match."

Getty Images

In his run to the final, Auger-Aliassime had saved multiple match points in his first two matches: two against Stefano Travaglia and three against home favorite Pierre-Hugues Herbert. The 19-year-old, who also finished runner-up a week ago to Gael Monfils in Rotterdam, fell to 0-5 in tour-level finals.

Tsitsipas will now head to Dubai, where he will look to back up a runner-up effort (l. to Federer) from a year ago. He will open his campaign against Pablo Carreno Busta. Auger-Aliassime is entered in the week’s other ATP 500 event, in Acapulco, and has drawn a qualifier.