Felix Auger-Aliassime wins Fiorentina title, boosts Torino qualification hopes | ATP Tour | tennis

It took Felix Auger-Aliassime nine finals to win his first ATP Tour trophy. In just his second league game since then, the Canadian added another trophy to his tally.

Auger-Aliassime defeated American JJ Wolf 6-4, 6-4 on Sunday to win the UniCredit Firenze Open. The top seed dropped just one set en route to the trophy, defeating world No. 75 Wolf in an hour and 41 minutes to claim the crown.

“It never gets old. Winning, it always feels like the first time,” Auger-Aliassime said in his on-pitch interview. “It’s very special to win, especially here. I’ve had a fantastic week and it’s been incredible.”

It’s been a critical week for Auger-Aliassime’s hopes of qualifying for the Nitto ATP Finals, to be played in Turin on November 13-20. A week after Taylor Fritz moved to the final qualifying position by triumphing in Tokyo, Auger-Aliassime overtook the American to finish seventh in the Pepperstone ATP Live Race To Turin. He is now 180 points ahead of the American. Tenth-placed Novak Djokovic has secured his spot in Turin as part of Grand Slam champion determination, which grants entry to a major winner of the current year who finishes between eighth and 20th in the live race.

Auger-Aliassime arrived in Florence after a straight-set loss to Roberto Bautista Agut in the first round of the Astana Open but quickly regained his confidence. The Canadian lost serve just four times at the ATP 250 and powered past opponents with a variety of playing styles – the aggressive Oscar Otte, the heavy-hitting Brandon Nakashima, the all-rounder Lorenzo Musetti and the baseliner Wolf – to lift his second trophy (also Rotterdam ).

“Every final is tough, it’s the top two players of the week,” said Auger-Aliassime. “Obviously you try to win more than lose the final and that’s why I came here today to give it my all. We had some very tough rallies in the second set and felt physically tough. But you keep pushing, trying, to keep the level high.

“But there is no magic. Sometimes you win, sometimes you lose, but of course I’m very happy because I came here [as] the first seed. I was the favorite in all my games on paper. It’s never an easy position so to come out and win my four games with confidence and conviction is really good for my confidence.”

Sunday’s final began with three consecutive breaks of serve as both players searched for rhythm on the indoor hard court. But it was Auger-Aliassime who kept creating more and more chances on his opponent’s serve. After losing his first service game of the game, Felix didn’t face another break point.

“I got a good start in the first game and then a pretty tight first service,” said Auger-Aliassime. “But after feeling like I was playing really good tennis, I served incredibly. Probably the best [I served] all week, so I’m really happy right now.”

Wolf saved nine of the 12 breakpoints he faced, but it wasn’t enough. The American tried to trade powerful shots with Auger-Aliassime, showing no fear of striking straight from the baseline or hitting returns against the powerful Canadian.

But Auger-Aliassime maintained too high a level throughout the game and was more comfortable in those powerful rallies. The 22-year-old sealed his win with his 11th ace, after which he quickly turned to his team to show his delight.

Wolf attempted to win his first ATP Tour title. The American will climb to career 56th in the Pepperstone ATP rankings on Monday.

Did you know?
Auger-Aliassime will return to the top 10 of the Pepperstone ATP rankings as he climbs to world No. 10 on Monday. The Canadian rose to a career-high world No. 8 in August.