Auger-Aliassime wins Open Occitanie final in three-set thriller
Felix Auger-Aliassime beat Aleksandar Kovacevic in the final of the Open Occitanie in Montpellier on Monday (AEDT) to claim his second ATP 250 title of 2025.
The second seed was pushed hard by the American qualifier in the championship match, winning 6-2, 6-7(7), 7-6(2) to claim the seventh title of his career.
Despite most tennis betting sites forecasting a straight-sets victory for the favourite, Kovacevic saved two championship points in the middle set to force a decider.
Afterwards, Auger-Aliassime described the two-hour, 39-minute final as one of the craziest he had ever played.
“For sure, the craziest final I have played, whether I won or lost,” the Canadian said.
“It was a crazy match.
“I couldn’t have got a better start. I was feeling good, but credit to Aleks, he raised his level.
“I think it was a very high level on both ends, serving well.
“This match deserved to go three sets with the way he was playing in the second.”
With the victory in Montpellier, the 24-year-old becomes the first man to win two titles this season and improves his overall record in 2025 to 10-2.
Auger-Aliassime now heads straight to the Rotterdam Open in an attempt to add a third title this year.
He will have much stiffer competition in the Netherlands, however, with world No.3 Carlos Alcaraz and top-10 players Daniil Medvedev, Alex de Minaur and Andrey Rublev all set to feature in the ATP 500 event.
Tennis bookmakers have Auger-Aliassime on the eighth line of title betting at $19 ahead of the tournament’s start this Monday.
His campaign will get underway on Tuesday against doubles specialist Andrea Vavassori, with Marantelli Bet installing Auger-Aliassime as a $1.11 favourite to continue his winning streak.
