Gael Monfils defeated Felix Auger-Aliassime 6-2, 6-4 on Sunday to win the Rotterdam Open for a second straight year, handing the Canadian teenager his fourth loss in four career finals.
Monfils, seeded third, has now won his last 10 matches at the Dutch tournament after claiming the 2019 title over Stan Wawrinka.
The trophy was the second in as many weeks for 33-year-old Monfils, champion last weekend in Montpellier.
The French showman was tested at the end, however, with his 19-year-old opponent salvaging four match points while trailing a set and 5-2.
Monfils praised his 21st-ranked opponent.
“You’re young, you improve fast and you will win this tournament and others for sure if you keep going like this,” said the champion who now has 10 career titles.
Auger-Aliassime, who first played the tournament in 2018, was pleased with his week.
However, he has now lost all four of his ATP finals following defeats in Rio de Janeiro, Lyon and Stuttgart in 2019. He was also a member of the Canadian side which lost to Spain in last year’s Davis Cup final.
“Bravo Gael, I’m happy for you. It was tough for me, losing my fourth career final, but I had an amazing week,” said the Canadian.
Monfils secured the opening set with two breaks of serve and looked like running away with the second.
But the Canadian youngster fought back in the eighth game of the set, breaking for 3-5 and clawing back to 4-5 before Monfils finally prevailed in 87 minutes.
