The Baseline Player of the Week: Felix Auger-Aliassime

Felix Auger-Aliassime has finally won an ATP Tour title. He had lost all eight of his previous finals—not winning a set in any of them—but the Canadian reversed the curse in Rotterdam, taking home the trophy against Stefanos Tsitsipas. In straight sets, Auger-Aliassime denied Tsitsipas his eighth career title. One can only imagine the relief Auger-Aliassime felt.

“It has not been the smoothest road since my first final,” Auger-Aliassime said in a post-match interview. “It is an amazing day for me to get my first title and especially here. I played my first ATP main draw here a couple of years ago, so it is right I won my first title here.”

Before coming into the final, the 21-year-old had not defeated Tsitsipas since the quarterfinal of Queen's Club in 2019. Auger-Aliassime had plenty confidence going into the final, defeating Andy Murray and Cameron Norrie in straight sets along the way. But it was always going to come down to Sunday, the pressure-packed day where FAA had succumbed too many times before.

This season is shaping up to be the best of the Canadian's career, having reached the Australian Open quarterfinals and helping Canada win an ATP Cup title.