Auger-Aliassime Wins Second European Open

Felix Auger-Aliassime
Felix Auger-Aliassime (photo: Belga/Virginie Lefour)

BRUSSELS/WASHINGTON, October 20, 2025 (by Michael Dickens)

Canada’s Felix Auger-Aliassime garnered his third ATP Tour title of 2025 and the eighth one of his career with an impressive 7-6 (2), 6-7 (6), 6-2 victory over Jiri Lehecha of Czechia to win the BNP Paribas Fortis European Open in Brussels, Belgium Sunday evening.

The 25-year-old Montreal, Quebec native – newly married and with his wife, Nina Ghaibi, sitting in his box throughout the tournament – became the first two-time winner in the 10th edition of the ATP 250 indoor hardcourt tournament. It followed his 2022 victory in Antwerp, which hosted the tournament for nine years before moving to Belgium’s capital city this year for this year’s edition.

Although the World No. 13 and second-seeded Auger-Aliassime failed to convert two match points in the second-set tie-break, which forced a decider, he came on strong and emphatically dominated the final set. Auger-Aliassime closed out the two-hour, 34-minute title match with a solid forehand winner that the World No. 17 Lehecka barely was able to get his racquet on. It was his second win over Lehecka in three career meetings.

“It’s the final, so we put everything on the line. I feel like we were both extremely focused from the beginning,” said Auger-Aliassime, during on-court interview before the trophy ceremony. “It was a high level for two sets, then you don’t know how things can go. … But I’m obviously glad.”

Auger-Aliassime came on strong against Lehecka, who was seeded third, and won the opening set after taking a 5-0 lead in the tie-break. Then, after Lehecka pulled even by winning the second set in a tie-break, Auger-Aliassime broke the serve of the Czech No. 1 in the fourth game to push ahead 3-1 – and never looked back. It was the second-straight year Lehecka has lost the European Open title match.

By the conclusion of Sunday’s final, the Canadian No. 1 Auger-Aliassime finished with 34 winners – including 17 aces – and won 79 percent (66 of 84 ) of his first serve points and backed by winning 71 percent (12 of 17) of the points on his second serve. He saved all three break points he faced and converted two of six break points against Lehecka. Auger-Aliassime outpointed his opponent 116-98.

A smiling and fist-pumping Auger-Aliassime looked overjoyed afterwards, full of positive emotions. He came over to share in the celebration with his team and received a congratulatory kiss from his wife, too. All was good with the young Canadians who improved to 41-20 this season with three titles. After all, since losing the first eight ATP Tour singles finals he competed in, he’s now won eight of his last 11 title matches – and it was his first crown since getting married last month. Going back to the start of the US Open, he’s been a quarterfinalist in Cincinnati and Shanghai, a semifinalist at the US Open, and now a titlist in Brussels – compiling a 15-3 win-loss record.

Additionally, Auger-Aliassime has compiled 76 victories on indoor hard courts – most of anyone on the ATP Tour – since the start of the 2020 season. Now, he’s off to the Swiss Indoors in Basel, Switzerland, an ATP 500-series event he won in consecutive years, in 2022-23. After winning Brussels, Auger-Aliassime moved up to ninth place in the PIF ATP Live Race To Turin, just 330 points behind eighth-place Lorenzo Musetti for the final berth. The Italian No. 1 will be competing this week at the Erste Bank Open in Vienna, Austria. Both are entered in the final ATP Masters 1000 of the season, the Rolex Paris Masters, which begins at the end of the month.

Meanwhile, Lehecka (41-20 with one title this season) tried to remain positive during his post-match news conference. He said: “Congrats to Felix, I think he was playing good tennis today. He served very well today. He’s a great indoor player and handled the conditions. 

“It was nice to be back in the final, to defend the points. I had the chance to play for the title, again. However, losses like this always hurt. … I think I gave everything I had.”

Harrison and King win third doubles title this season

No. 2 seeds Christian Harrison and Evan King of the United States won their third ATP Tour doubles title of the season – and second indoor crown of 2025 – with their 7-6 (10), 7-6 (5) victory over top-seeded Hugo Nys of Monaco and Edouard Roger-Vasselin of France.

The one-hour, 45-minute final was decided by the closest of margins. There were no breaks of serve and the Monegasque/French duo outpointed the American winners 79-77. 

It was the second victory of the season by Harrison and King over Nys and Roger-Vasselin following their quarterfinal victory in Acapulco last February. After debuting as a team at Montpellier earlier this year, Harrison, 31, and King, 33, have compiled a 34-21 win-loss record. They are the fifth team this season to win three ATP Tour titles – and the second American team to win the title in Belgium.

Meanwhile, Nys and Roger-Vasselin dropped to 36-20 lifetime dating back to 2022 and 35-19 this season. They won their first title recently in Tokyo and have also been finalists in Marrakech and Washington, D.C.

Norman: 10th edition was a success in every respect

According to BNP Paribas Fortis European Open tournament director Dick Norman, this year’s 10th edition of the event – and first in Brussels – “was a success in every respect.”

During a news conference Sunday afternoon prior to the singles final, Norman and Tennium CEO Kristoff Puelinckx, spoke to the media about the state of this year’s tournament.

“The move to Brussels was a major challenge, with many factors to consider,” Norman said. “But we can proudly say the tournament was a complete success, both for the players and the fans. The strong field was a great recognition for the entire organization. With this solid foundation, the tournament can only continue to grow.”

Puelinckx added: “By relocating to Brussels, we’ve firmly established ourselves among the 55 ATP tournaments worldwide and strengthened our position as an intentional event. Matches were broadcast across numerous countries, and we welcomed players from 22 different nations, including 10 Belgians, all of whom performed admirably. That’s the key to our success: combining international stars like Lorenzo Musetti with a strong Belgian presence. My greatest satisfaction? The enthusiasm of the crowd. No tournament can thrive without its fans. In Brussels, we saw a great balance between Flemish and Walloon supporters, and interestingly, around 30 percent of ticket buyers were English speakers, a clear sign of the event’s growing international reach.”

By the numbers

By becoming the first player to win multiple titles in European Open tournament history, Felix Auger-Aliassime also tied Milos Raonic for most ATP Tour titles among Canadians in the Open Era (since 1968) with eight. The 25-year-old Montreal native is 5-1 versus Top-20 opponents since the start of US Open (8-7 in 2025).

“Quotable …”

“I have so much respect for him as a person, as a player. He’s a great guy. Since he’s been on Tour, we’ve gotten along very well, so credit to him and his team, they do a fantastic job.”

– BNP Paribas Fortis European Open champion Felix Auger-Aliassime, during his on-court interview after winning his second Belgian title, becoming the first player in the 10-year history of the tournament to do so.

 

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