Félix Auger-Aliassime defends title at Swiss Indoors
Félix Auger-Aliassime is back on top! The Canadian retains his crown at the Swiss Indoors final in Basel, Switzerland.
He defeated Polish Hubert Hurkacz 7-6(3), 7-6(5) for the trophy of the ATP 500 final. After having won four ATP events last year, this is his first victory of 2023.
The match went to two tie-breaks, but the sixth-seeded Canadian seemed in control for almost the entire encounter. He dominated behind his serve, losing just nine service points across both sets. Auger-Aliassime hit a big backhand return that Hurkacz could not handle to close out the opening set.
From early in the second set, Hurkacz was limited in his movement, seemingly dealing with a left leg injury. The 26-year-old battled to save all five break points he faced, including four in the second set. Nevertheless, the Canadian sealed the match just as he had the first set, unleashing a powerful backhand return. He would not be denied his first title of the season.
Auger-Aliassime advanced to his first finals of the year after defeating Danish Holger Rune in straight sets of 6-3, 6-2.
He dominated the entire semifinal match but his services games set him apart from his opponent. After a lengthy match in the quarter-finals, Auger-Aliassime seemed poised to finish off the semifinals as quickly as possible. The 23-year-old recorded five aces and scored points on 82 per cent of his first serves across both sets.
His first serves were strong in the first set but were nearly unbeatable in the second. Of the 14 first serves he attempted, he scored points on 13 of them, breezing his way through the match.
Auger-Aliassime grew in confidence throughout an impressive week in Switzerland, losing only one set en route to the trophy.
Before this tournament, he had made just one semifinal in 2023, which came in February in Doha. Auger-Aliassime lost the first eight ATP Tour finals of his career, but he has now won five of his past six championship clashes.
