The 21st-ranked Felix Auger-Aliassime, seen here on Jan. 21, 2020, fell to 0-4 in career ATP Tour final appearances.Dita Alangkara/The Associated Press
Canada’s Félix Auger-Aliassime dropped a 6-2, 6-4 decision to Gaël Monfils of France in the final of the ABN AMRO World Tennis Tournament on Sunday.
Monfils, the world No. 9, won the ATP Tour 500 indoor hard-court event for the second straight year.
With Monfils serving for the match at 5-2, the 19-year-old from Montreal held off four match points before finally getting a service break. Auger-Aliassime then held serve, but couldn’t break the veteran a second time.
“It was a passive match from me,” Monfils said. “I chose to be in defence quite a lot I knew, physically, it would be tough for him to come through me. I was doing this great at the end, I was very pleased with my service.”
The Canadian had a 20-15 edge in winners, but had 32 unforced errors to just 14 for Monfils, who completed the win in 1 hour 26 minutes.
The 21st-ranked Auger-Aliassime fell to 0-4 in career ATP Tour final appearances.
“The week has been good, encouraging,” Auger-Aliassime said. “It is the start of the season and the second month I’ve played. It is encouraging for what is next, but I will have to keep working well, doing the adjustments I need to do and keep believing, keep pushing to give myself chances to play matches like these.”
Earlier, Nicolas Mahut and Pierre-Hugues Herbert of France posted a 7-6 (5), 4-6, 10-7 win over Finland’s Henri Kontinen and Germany’s Jan-Lennard Struff in the men’s doubles final.
It was the second straight week that Monfils had defeated a Canadian in a final. He beat Vancouver’s Vasek Pospisil last weekend to win the Open Sud de France.
“It’s an amazing feeling for the first time for me to back it up, year after year, week after week,” Monfils said. “It is a different feeling I have never experienced in my career, so I feel grateful.”
Bertens beats Rybakina to retain St. Petersburg title
Kiki Bertens beat Elena Rybakina 6-1, 6-3 to retain the St. Petersburg Ladies’ Trophy on Sunday. It’s the first title of 2020 for the Dutch player, who’s eighth in the world rankings. She hit six aces on the way to victory and held serve throughout. Second-seeded Bertens needed just 1 hour 14 minutes to beat Rybakina in the final after fighting off a second-set comeback from Rybakina by saving four break points in the opening game.
Norway’s Casper Ruud wins first title at Argentina Open
Norwegian Casper Ruud clinched his first title by beating lucky loser Pedro Sousa 6-1, 6-4 in the Argentina Open final on Sunday. The 21-year-old Ruud didn’t face a break point in his nine service games and broke his Portuguese opponent three times. Eighth-seeded Ruud reached the final in Buenos Aires after beating Argentine Juan Ignacio Londero in the semi-finals. The 31-year-old Sousa, ranked 145th, had a walkover in his semi-final against top-seeded Diego Schwartzman.
Edmund beats Seppi to win title at New York Open
Kyle Edmund won his second ATP title Sunday, wearing down Andreas Seppi for a 7-5, 6-1 victory at the New York Open. Edmund won five straight games to take the first set and build a big lead in the second, seizing control with shots that seemed to get more powerful as the match went on. The 35-year-old Seppi, 10 years older than Edmund, hung in for a while as balls kept coming back harder than he hit them, but fell short in his bid for a first title since 2012.