Third time lucky' for Alex de Minaur as he lifts one of biggest titles of his career

"The Australian produced some of his finest tennis on Sunday (Monday AEDT) to crush the Canadian world No 6, who had won the Montpellier Open just a week earlier and whose service had been seemingly unbreakable. But after 78 consecutive service holds, Auger-Aliassime had his delivery finally dismantled by world No 8 De Minaur in the first set, before the inspired Sydneysider roared on to lift his first indoor title with a 6-3, 6-2 win."

"It was a reward for the dogged Australian's perseverance as he finally lifted the title at one of his favourite hard-court tournaments after losing the last two finals to Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz. I mean, third time lucky, beamed the 26-year-old. I'm so super happy. It ended up being a great week here, a place where I always feel really, really good. I was just a step short the previous years, so it feels great to finally be able to lift the title."

"The sport's top-two powerhouses may not have been in the Netherlands this week, but Auger-Aliassime had been in the form of his life, having destroyed Alexander Bublik in the semis in what he felt was a near-perfect performance. But De Minaur, the first to make it to three-straight finals at the Ahoy Arena tournament, found a completely new level after some slightly chequered form during the week as he took just 77 minutes to become only the second Australian winner"

Alex de Minaur defeated Felix Auger-Aliassime 6-3, 6-2 to win the Rotterdam Open, securing his first indoor title. De Minaur ended Auger-Aliassime's run of 78 consecutive service holds by breaking in the first set and produced aggressive baseline tennis and decisive passing shots. De Minaur reached his third straight final at the Ahoy Arena after earlier losses in two finals and needed just 77 minutes to win. Auger-Aliassime had been in excellent form, having won Montpellier and beaten Alexander Bublik in the semis. De Minaur became only the second Australian champion in the tournament's history.

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