AFTER a rocky start to the 2025 ATP Tour season to say the least, Greece’s Stefanos Tsitsipas has remarkably secured his first hardcourt title in two years. Tsitsipas came into the event with a 3-4 record up against Canadian Felix Auger-Aliassime who had already banked two ATP Tour titles and moved back inside the Top 20.

However after Auger-Aliassime admitted he was a little tired after his semi-final win over French qualifier Quentin Halys, there looked like there was not much more to give. With Tsitsipas feeling and looking fresher, the fourth seed Greek was able to wrap up the match rather simply in straight sets, 6-3 6-3.

Tsitsipas needed just under an hour and a half to secure his first ever Dubai Tennis Championship title after two narrow misses in 2018 and 2020. They were part of 11 losing ATP500 finals, with Tsitsipas making it 12th time lucky and fittingly, hist 12th ATP Tour title in the process.

“There is nothing that ensured the win today, it was just pure fighting,” Tsitsipas said post-match. “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. 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.”

Auger-Aliassime still performed strongly in defeat, hitting four more winners and only six more unforced errors, though he could not capitalise any of the seven break point chances he accrued for the final. Tsitsipas on the other hand broke three times from six opportunities, which ultimately was the difference between the players.

Despite his poor start to the year, Tsitsipas guaranteed his return to the Top 10 with the victory, and increased his head-to-head record to 7-3 over Auger-Aliassime. The Canadian number one will also rise up to 18th in the world, and right now sits third on the ATP Live Race rankings after two titles and one final.

“Tonight wasn’t meant to be, but congrats to Stefanos and his team,” Auger-Aliassime said. “We’ve known each other a long time, but tonight you played at a very high level — I can say that for sure. I’ll push to get better and hopefully we’ll have more chances to play finals in the future.”