De Minaur hopes to end Rottterdam jinx

Alex de Minaur will aim on Sunday to end his title drought at the ATP Rotterdam 500 event when he faces on-fire Canadian Felix Auger-Aliassime for the title

The Australian has missed out on titles at the previous two editions at the Ahoy stadium losing to Jannik Sinner in 2024 and going down a year ago here to Carlos Alcaraz in the title match..

De Minaur set up a top 10 final when the No. 8 plays the sixth-ranked Canadian, winner of last week’s Montpellier trophy now riding an eight-match win streak after being shocked in the Australian Open first round.

The Aussie saved 10 break points in his 6-4, 6-3 semi-final win on Saturday over Ugo Humbert. FAA booked a spot in his second consecutive final as he defeated Alexander Bublik 6-1, 6-2.

De Minaur lifted his Rotterdam record to 17-5  as he became the first to ever reach three straight finals in the Dutch port city.

“I’m super proud of the efforts,” the winner said. “There were a lot of tough moments, a lot of break points, a lot of tricky situations.

“But I managed to dig myself out of them and I’m super pumped to be in another final here and give myself another chance of hopefully getting the title.

He added: “It was hard to get a lot of rhythm,he looks to get the first strike in the rally whenever he can. 

“It’s not every match you get the chance to be aggressive. Today was one I was certainly not able to do that, but I found a way.”

Auger Aliassime, 2022 Rotterdam winner,  will be playing his ninth ATP final, a best for Canadians.

“Every day when you come out on a streak, you don’t know if it will be the night it is going to end, but tonight wasn’t the night,” he said .

“This was for sure my best match in a long time. The efficiency, the precision, the intentions… I was just striking the ball well. When you feel like that on the court, it’s a joy to play tennis.”