Alex de Minaur finally breaks through, captures first indoor title in Rotterdam
Rotterdam has long been a stage of near misses for Alex de Minaur, a city where he flirted with glory only to see it slip through his fingers.
But on Sunday, the top-seeded Australian finally turned promise into triumph, defeating Felix Auger-Aliassime 6-3, 6-2 to claim his first indoor title and the 11th ATP crown of his career.
For de Minaur, the victory was a redemption story. The Australian had fallen in the Rotterdam final in consecutive years, succumbing to Jannik Sinner in 2024 and Carlos Alcaraz in 2025.
“Third time lucky,” de Minaur said after lifting the trophy, his grin unmissable. “Super stoked, super happy. It ended up being a great week here in Rotterdam, a place where I always feel really, really good. I was just a step short the last previous years. It feels great to finally lift the title.”
The path to this milestone was anything but straightforward. In the quarterfinals, de Minaur narrowly escaped Botic van de Zandschulp, saving a match point at 4-5 in the deciding set before eking out a 3-6, 7-6(4), 7-5 win.
By reaching the final, he became the first player in the 53-year history of the ABN AMRO Open to contest three consecutive championship matches — a testament to his consistency at the ATP 500 level.
Sunday’s opponent, Auger-Aliassime, represented the ultimate challenge.
The Canadian entered the final as one of the most formidable indoor competitors on tour, boasting eight of his nine career ATP titles on hard courts under a roof, including last week’s triumph in Montpellier. Leading into the match, Auger-Aliassime had held all 39 of his service games that week.
Yet de Minaur, ever the relentless competitor, found another gear. He broke Auger-Aliassime three times — once in the first set, twice in the second — converting three of five break point chances while never facing a break point himself.
The final, lasting just 78 minutes, ended with de Minaur serving his first ace of the match, sealing a performance that felt like both statement and relief. “That’s what it’s all about, doing my best to rise up to the occasion,” he explained.
“As the tournament goes on, you try to find ways and solutions and try to give yourself the best chance to play better the following day, and I did exactly that. Every day I got better, and I’m super pleased with the performance today.”
The match swung in de Minaur’s favor midway through the opening set when he seized the sixth game, striking two inspired winners to earn the decisive break — Auger-Aliassime’s first service loss since his second-round win over Stan Wawrinka in Montpellier.
The Australian carried that momentum into the second set, stepping inside the baseline to dictate rallies with increased aggression. A medical timeout for Auger-Aliassime midway through the set appeared to sap the Canadian’s usual explosiveness, and de Minaur pounced, finishing the match with clinical precision.
Even in defeat, Auger-Aliassime acknowledged de Minaur’s triumph: “Congrats to Alex and your team. We’ve played a lot of matches throughout the years… I tried my best today, but you were just a little bit too good. Third time in the final here, so congrats on the win.”
The Rotterdam victory elevates de Minaur’s resuma with his fourth ATP 500 title, alongside wins in Acapulco (2023, 2024) and Washington D.C. (2025), all previously outdoors.
Statistically, it further cements his standing as one of the tour’s most consistent performers, with 53 ATP 500 wins since 2023—surpassing even Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner.
The triumph also moves him up two spots to No. 6 in the PIF ATP Live Rankings, a tangible reflection of a week where preparation, persistence, and patience finally converged.
