Auger-Aliassime outlasts American Kovacevic to capture Montpellier Open in tiebreaker | CBC Sports

A solid serve and patience helped Canada’s Felix Auger-Aliassime earn his second men’s tennis title of the season.

The second-seeded Canadian defeated Aleksandar Kovacevic 6-2, 6-7 (7), 7-6 (2) to win the Open Occitanie tournament Sunday in Montpellier, France. Auger-Aliassime, of Montreal registered 19 aces and also won 78 per cent of his first serves in the final of the ATP 250 event, which lasted two hours 39 minutes.

“I think my serve was huge today to stay in the match, stay close to him in the score and then try my best in the tiebreak,” Auger-Aliassime said. “I lost one and won one, just glad it went my way.”

WATCH l Auger-Aliassime rides 19 aces to his 2nd title of season:

But Auger Aliassime also credited Kovacevic’s serve for allowing the American to get back into the match in the second and third sets.

“His quality of serving improved,” the Canadian said. “I felt in the first set . . . he was going for shots that weren’t easy and wasn’t making them as much.

“But in the second and third sets he started making those. He did really well in the second and third sets so I just had to wait for my moment where I could reverse that tendency.”

And Auger-Aliassime said that’s where his patience and mindset of concentrating on the here and now and not worrying about what had happened really paid off.

“I was a little unlucky but also credit to him, he hit a great passing shot on the line when I had match point in the second set,” he said. “It could’ve easily went out but it didn’t and that’s when you’re really tested mentally.

“You have to try and focus on what you can control and try to respond to this challenge the best way possible and not beat yourself.”

Auger-Aliassime also converted on two-of-three break points to earn his second title of the season and seventh overall. The Canadian won the Adelaide International event in January and improved his record to 10-2 this season.