Felix Auger-Aliassime Continues Indoor Dominance in Montpellier

Since winning the title in Montpellier last year, Felix Auger-Aliassime has lost just four matches on indoor hardcourts: two by retirement, and two to Jannik Sinner. Those aside, Auger-Aliassime has been utterly dominant on this surface, and last week was no exception.

After retiring in his first-round match at the Australian Open, Auger-Aliassime accepted a wildcard to Montpellier, hopeful to defend his title and make up for the points he didn’t gain at the first Grand Slam of the year. 

For Auger-Aliassime, the perfect place to bounce back was on a hardcourt and under a roof. 

Felix Auger-Aliassime’s Perfect Comeback

His run to the title wasn’t a guarantee, though, with a tough draw to get through. After a bye into the second round, Auger-Aliassime was up against Stan Wawrinka, playing with nothing to lose in his retirement year. 

But Auger-Aliassime walked out on court at the top of his game. He was firing from both wings and won 10 of 12 net points, but ultimately it was his serve that made the difference. Auger-Aliassime hit 16 aces to Wawrinka’s five, and won 82% of first-serve points. In all his indoor success, Auger-Aliassime has practically perfected his service strategies, and it was enough to overcome Wawrinka in straight sets. 

In the quarterfinals, Auger-Aliassime faced Arthur Fils and dominated on serve once again, winning 93% of first-serve points and 85% of second-serve points. He didn’t face a single break point in the entire match, and pulled through another straight-set win. 

The semifinal match against Titouan Droguet turned out to be Auger-Aliassime’s biggest challenge, as he lost the second set in a 7-5 tiebreak. But with 20 aces and every break point saved, the win was always within his grasp and he took the third set in a dominant 6-1 scoreline.

After such a dominant run — not only in the tournament, but on indoor hardcourts in general — the final almost felt like a foregone conclusion. And unfortunately for finalist Adrian Mannarino, it was. Auger-Aliassime was clinical, defending his title and further asserting himself as one of the best indoor hardcourt players on the ATP Tour.