ATP Rotterdam: Final victory - Gael Monfils beats Felix Auger-Aliassime
Gael Monfils has once again demonstrated its great shape. He won the ATP 500 tournament in Rotterdam in the final against Felix Auger-Aliassime.
by Florian Goosmann
last edit: Feb 16, 2020, 05:33 pm
Monfils won 6: 2 and 6: 4, defending his title from the previous year and celebrating his tenth tournament victory on the ATP tour. And his second in a row - only last week he had won the home game in Montpellier .
Auger-Aliassime made too many mistakes against a usual defending Monfils (32 without need, 21 with the forehand). Even if he showed great fighting spirit at the end of the match, defended four match balls and brought back a break. In the dangerous 5: 4 and 0:15, however, Monfils increased again and scored four points in a row.
Monfils wants to attack again
Monfils seems to want to know it again and is currently following his words with action. Only recently had he announced again that he wanted to reach the top 5 in the world. He is currently number 9 in the ATP ranking.
The 33-year-old Frenchman also improved his meager final balance with his two victories in Montpellier and Rotterdam - he now has 10 tournament wins and 21 final defeats. It is the first time in his career that Monfils has won two tournaments in one year.
"You are young, you improve quickly - you will still win a lot. This tournament and other tournaments," Monfils praised his opponent in the final.
"It was a fantastic week for me. I love playing here so much," he said, referring to his team and goals. "We work hard and finally you can see the results."
Monfils wins 406,840 euros for his victory, Auger-Aliasame gets half.
"FAA" back in shape
Auger-Aliassime is still waiting for his first tournament victory on the ATP tour. The 19-year-old has lost all four finals so far, but is still in strong form.
"FAA" had started its run towards the top of the world a year ago with the final in Rio de Janeiro when he was ranked 104 in the world. started the race. In the fall he had broken the top 20, but had to suffer more and more losses. Auger-Aliassime also started to stutter at the ATP Cup at the start of the new season, but again in Adelaide and now in Rotterdam.
Pierre-Hugues Herbert and Nicolas Mahut had previously won in the doubles. The two French defeated Henri Kontinen and Jan-Lennard Struff with 7: 6 (5), 4: 6, [10: 7].