Felix turns on the afterburners to clinch Adelaide crown

Felix Auger-Aliassime’s confident start to the 2025 season picked up pace Saturday, when he claimed the Adelaide International title.

The fifth seed held his nerve for a 6-3, 3-6, 6-1 triumph against Sebastian Korda to clinch his sixth ATP Tour title, and first outdoors. Auger-Aliassime is now on a five-match win streak which began last week with his victory over World No. 4 Taylor Fritz at the United Cup.

Starting the season in style 😮‍💨

The moment @felixtennis reigned supreme in Adelaide.@AdelaideTennis | #AdelaideTennis pic.twitter.com/WFhqyBLjrk

— ATP Tour (@atptour) January 11, 2025

“It feels great, any title feels amazing," said Auger-Aliassime, who is 8-0 against Americans since the start of 2024. “I've had my fair share of difficulty to win titles in the beginning of my career, and now every one means a lot. To show that I can play well on other surfaces, to get over that hump and win a first title outdoors, is great. 

“Most importantly, thank you to my team, my group, my dad. Thank you for everything. Thank you also to my family back home, my fiancée and her family. It’s the best support you can have as a player. I enjoy working everyday with you all. Let’s push to have a great year.”

Auger-Aliassime struck 61 unforced errors in his scrappy semi-final victory over Tommy Paul, but drastically reduced his count to just 21 against Korda, who was competing in his first tournament since undergoing elbow surgery last October.

After improving to 3-1 in the pair’s Lexus ATP Head2Head record with his one-hour, 49-minute victory, Auger-Aliassime is up to No. 23 in the PIF ATP Live Rankings. The former World No. 6 will now look to push on from his rock-solid start to 2025 at the Australian Open, where he faces Jan-Lennard Struff in the first round on Monday.

"It's a quick turnaround [but] the confidence is high," Auger-Aliassime said. "I know my capabilities, I know what I can do. But let's take it day by day."

Auger-Aliassime saved four break points across his opening three service games before easing into his 16th tour-level final with some redline tennis. A flicked forehand winner to open the sixth game helped Auger-Aliassime notch the first break of the match, and he ultimately reeled off 17 of the final 21 points to take the opening set.

Korda, who let slip a championship point against Novak Djokovic in the 2023 Adelaide final, fought back with a gutsy second set, in which he saved two break points to stay alive. Yet Auger-Aliassime made amends with a clinical performance in decider, during which he won 93 per cent (13/14) of first-serve points, according to Infosys ATP Stats.