Third Time’s a Charm for De Minaur, Who Dominates Auger-Aliassime for Rotterdam Title

Third time dominant. In his third appearance in the Rotterdam final, Alex de Minaur made the most of his chances and ripped past Felix Auger-Aliassime, 6-3, 6-2, for his 11th career title and his first in Rotterdam.

“Third time lucky,” De Minaur said on court after his second career win in five tries against Auger-Aliassime. “I’m super stoked. It ended up being a great week in Rotterdam; it’s a place where I always feel really good and I was just a step short in the last few years—it feels great to finally lift the trophy.

“I’m doing my best to rise to the occasion. I did exactly that; every day I got better, and I’m super pleased with the performance today.”

De Minaur dropped just 14 points on serve and never faced a break point in the one-hour and 17-minute contest.

“I’m glad I was finally able to get the title,” De Minaur said. “It’s been one of my favorite spots on the calendar. I love playing back here in Rotterdam; I’ve played some of my best tennis and I finally get the reward.”

There were no rewards for Auger-Aliassime, who was broken once in each set and seemed subdued from the start. De Minaur broke for 4-2 in the first set and never looked back, winning eight of his next ten service points to lock down the opener.

On the prowl in the fifth game of the second set, De Minaur broke at love, flicking a forehand into the open court for a winner. Auger-Aliassime headed off court for a medical timeout at that moment to have his left upper thigh treated. It was a window into what might have hampered the Canadian on a day when his opportunities were few and far between.

The 2022 champion, who entered the final on an eight-match winning streak following his title in Montpellier last week, would not win another game.

“Congrats to Alex and your team; we’ve played a lot of matches throughout the years,” the 25-year-old Canadian said. “I tried my best today, but you were just a little too good.”

De Minaur, the first man to ever reach the final at Rotterdam for three successive years, claims his 11th ATP title, and his first indoors. After falling to Jannik Sinner in the 2024 final and Carlos Alcaraz last year, the Australian finally has his crown.

He now ties Patrick Rafter and Mark Philippoussis for sixth on the all-time list of Australian men’s singles ATP titles.