Defending champion Auger-Aliassime reaches the 21st final in Montpellier – Tennis Now
By Richard Pagliaro Saturday, February 7, 2026
Photo credit: Julian Finney/Getty
cover the roof Felix Auger-Aliassime You’re looking at a champion with a very high ceiling.
Defending champion Auger-Aliassime hits his 20th ace out of bounds on match point to beat French qualifier Tituan Droghe 6-4, 6-7(5), 6-1 returned to the Montpellier final.
This is the 21st career final for Auger-Aliassime, who has been second to none in indoor competitions for nearly a decade.
The top-seeded Canadian leads all ATP players in indoor wins this decade (88), with seven titles under the roof.
The dynamic Auger-Aliassime decided the match on serve. Auger-Aliassime hit 78 percent of his serve, hit 20 aces without a double fault and saved all three break points he faced to win in two hours and 27 minutes.
The win advances the 2025 US Open semi-finals into tomorrow’s Montpellier final against the Frenchman Adrian Manarino.
In today’s first left-handed semifinal, Manarino withstood 23 ACE balls from left-handers. Martin Damm Jr. Won 1-6, 6-3, 6-4.
Qualifier Damme went scoreless in the tournament, including wins over seventh-seeded Hubert Hulkac, Roberto Bautista Agut and Luca Nardi. Today, Mannarino converted two break points to prevent Damm Jr. from reaching the ATP final for the first time, 30 years after his father, Martin Damm, Sr., reached the final in Seoul.
This is the 16th time in his career that the 37-year-old Manarino has reached the final. He defeated another left-handed compatriot Ugo Humbert in the second round and erased three match points.
Auger-Aliassime, who retired from his Australian Open opener against Nuno Borges due to cramps, has met Mannarino twice in his career. Auger-Aliassime swept Mannarino 6-0, 6-4 in his most recent clay-court match at the 2024 Mutua Madrid Masters.
World No. 8 Auger-Aliassime was expected to win in straight sets today, but Droghe grabbed the deciding set to force the match into the final.
In the decider, which was deadlocked, Auger-Aliassime saved two break points, including an ace on the second break point, sparking a standoff and scoring three aces to tie the score at 2-1.
The hard-fought match sparked a climax that saw Auger-Aliassime win his last five games in a row to return to the finals.
Last year, Auger-Aliassime defeated American Alexander Kovacevic in the Montpellier final. Auger-Aliassime, who defeated three-time Grand Slam champion Stan Wawrinka in his opening match, will face his French opponent for the third consecutive time.
