Stefanos Tsitsipas secured his first title in nearly a year by defeating Felix Auger-Aliassime 6-3, 6-3 in the Dubai final on Saturday.
“There is nothing that ensured the win today, it was just pure fighting,” said Tsitsipas after winning in one hour and 28 minutes.
The Greek player ended his unsuccessful run in ATP 500-level finals with this victory.
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While Tsitsipas has previously won the season-ending ATP Finals and top-tier ATP 1000 events, he had lost all 11 of his previous finals at 500 tournaments, including two defeats in Dubai to Roger Federer in 2019 and Novak Djokovic in 2020.
“It’s a big relief that I’m able to hold that trophy after the third attempt. It’s something that I had in the back of my mind, and I’m happy to say I accomplished it.”
Unseeded Canadian Auger-Aliassime entered the match with the momentum, having won tournaments in Adelaide in January and Montpellier in February.
“I had a great opponent on the other side of the net, I knew it was a difficult task. I’m just proud of the way I managed the pressure and was able to perform in those crucial moments.”
Tsitsipas controlled the match from the baseline and maintained his serve throughout, despite facing break points twice in each set.
He broke the Canadian’s serve in the seventh and ninth games of the first set, and secured the decisive break in the eighth game of the second set.
Tsitsipas, who had fallen from world No.3 in early 2023 to 11th place, will climb to ninth when the ATP rankings update on Monday.
“These are the things we are fighting for as professional tennis players. To be owning a spot in the top 10 is definitely one of the greatest feelings a tennis player can experience. It comes with hard work and sacrifices, but I’m happy that I’m in a position where I can really celebrate.”
