Second seed and world number 13 Felix Auger Aliassime beat Raphael Collignon 7-6 (7-2) 6-4 in 1 hour and 45 minutes to reach the final at the European Open in Brussels.
Auger Aliassime fired eight aces and made just double fault and won 78%of his first serve points.
Collignon saved the only break point in the 10th game of the first set. The Belgian player earned the first mini-break, but Auger Aliassime won seven of the next eight points with three mini-breaks to clinch the tie-break 7-2.
Auger Alaiassime converted his only break point in the fifth game to take a 3-2 lead. The Canadian player held serve in his next games and sealed the win on his first match point.
Auger Aliassime is seeking his third title of the season after Adelaide last January and Montpellier last February. The Canadian player won 40 matches this year and is ninth in the Live Race to Turin with 3070 points trailing Lorenzo Musetti by 415 points. He becomes the fourth player to reach four finals after Carlos Alcaraz (10), Sinner (7) and Alexander Bublik (4).
Auger Aliassime set up a final match against world number 17 Jiri Lehecka, who battled past Frenchman Giovanni Mpetchi Perricard 7-6 (7-3) 7-6 (9-7).
Collignon hit five aces but he made four double faults. The Belgian player did not earn a single break point in the match.
Auger Aliassime won the European Open In 2022 when this tournament was held in Antwerp.
Felix Auger Aliassime: “I had a great opponent in front of me and he was inspired by playing at home,” said Auger-Aliassime, who won the ATP 250 event when it was held in Antwerp in 2022. “I knew it could be the toughest challenge of the week so far. He has been playing great for the past few weeks and months. It was really fun to play, high intensity. It was a pleasure to be a part of that and this week and we have one more to go tomorrow.”
Auger Aliassime set up a final against Jiri Lehechka, who overcame Giovanni Mpetchi Perricard 7-6 (7-3) 7-6 (9-7) to reach the finals at this tournament for the second consecutive year.
Both players went on serve in the first set. Mpetchi Perricard saved two set points to hold serve in the 10th game. Lehecka earned two mini-breaks to win the tie-break 7-2. There were no breaks of serve in the second set en route to a second tie-break. Lehecka earned the first mini-break to take a 3-1 lead in the tie-break. Mpetchi Perricard pulled the mini-break back to draw level to 3-3. Lechecka earned another mini-break pm his match point.
Lehecka is aiming to win the third title of his career. The Chech player won trophies in Adelaide and Brisbane on hard court.
Jiri Lechecka: “It is always tough to prepare for these kinds of matches. You have to concentrate 100 per cent each point as you don’t know what is coming. He has such a good serve. For me, the most important thing was to stay focused on my service games and wait for the chances”
