Mannarino, Auger-Aliassime Set Montpellier Title Showdown

Adrian Mannarino
Adrian Mannarino (photo: Open Occitanie/JB Autissier)

MONTPELLIER/WASHINGTON, February 7, 2026 (by Michael Dickens)

In a battle of lefties with contrasting styles at the Open Occitanie, the soft power exuded by Adrian Mannarino prevailed over the big power of Martin Damm Saturday afternoon, in the opening semifinal match of the ATP 250 indoor hard-court event in Montpellier, France. 

By the conclusion of their one-hour, 44-minute skirmish, the French favorite Mannarino rode the roar of the adoring crowd to a 1-6, 6-3, 6-4 comeback victory over the 160th-ranked Damm from the United States to reach his 16th ATP Tour final – and the first one for him since winning the Sofia title in 2023. 

On Sunday, Mannarino will face defending champion and top seed Felix Auger-Aliassime. The World No. 8 from Canada ended the surprising run of 150th-ranked qualifier Titouan Droguet of France, 6-4, 6-7 (5), 6-1, in two hours and 27 minutes.

Meanwhile, after having reached three semifinals in three different ATP Tour events in France, the 37-year-old Mannarino, a  native of Soisy-sous-Montmorency, has finally made it to the title match of a tournament in his home country – and he’s the oldest finalist in Montpellier tournament history.

“I’m definitely happy but I’m kind of exhausted right now,” the 70th-ranked Mannarino said during his on-court interview after winning his fourth-straight match this week in Montpellier to boost his PIF ATP Live Ranking to No. 51. It was his third-straight three-set battle but he’s won each of them to improve his lifetime mark in this southern France event to 9-7.

In the opening set, Damm played relentless tennis, hitting winners almost at will from both wings. He broke the Frenchman in the fourth game to go ahead 3-1 and consolidated it by winning four-straight points for a 4-1 lead. A double fault by Mannarino – his third of the set – on break point in the ensuing game gifted Damm a double-break 5-1 lead just 22 minutes into the semifinal match. Then, the 22-year-old Floridian put away the 25-minute opening set 6-1, which included 17 winners hit by the 6-foot-8-inch Damm. He dropped just two points on his first serve.

Then, as the second set unfolded, Mannarino righted himself and held at love for a 2-1 lead. In his next service game, he rallied from 15-30 down to hold serve. Soon, he became the first player to break Damm’s serve all week after the American double-faulted away break point and it gave Mannarino a 5-3 advantage. He promptly closed out the second set at love with his eighth ace of the semifinal to win it 6-3 – and the match was dead even as it reached the hour-long mark, tied at a set each with one more to go.

Mannarino got off to a dream start in the decider by breaking Damm’s serve for the second straight time to lead 1-0 after the young American committed his 27th unforced error with a netted forehand return. Soon, the Frenchman maintained a break lead at 3-1 after a lengthy hold that was a test of his mental fortitude. Then, Mannarino came through in his next service game to hold for 4-2. The frustration seemed to mount for Damm as he was unable to manufacture any break-point opportunities while his unforced error count continued to rise. Despite an easy hold, time was beginning to run out for him. 

Next, Mannarino enjoyed a stress-free hold for a 5-3 lead, thanks to some good serving that kept Damm on his back foot. It would be up to Damm to hold or go home. He did just that by striking back-to-back aces, Nos. 22 and 23, and the match was on Mannarino’s racquet, ahead 5-4.

Serving for a place in the Montpellier final, Mannarino – the oldest semifinalist in tournament history – got a little bit tight and fell behind 15-40 as Damm went for broke with his blistering forehand returns that pinned Mannarino at the baseline. However, the Frenchman composed himself and his 11th ace up the middle saved a break point as the partisan crowd that filled 6,700-seat Sud de France Arena to its capacity cheered Mannarino on. 

Soon, Mannarino gained a match point after winning a competitive 12-shot rally. However, he netted a forehand return that ended a seven-shot exchange. Back to deuce, he gained his second match point after Damm netted an easy backhand while standing near the net. This time, Mannarino wouldn’t be denied as he won after Damm went for broke and sailed a second-shot forehand return long.

By the end, Mannarino had accumulated 11 aces and won 78 percent (36 of 46) of his first-serve points. He converted both of his break points against Damm while being broken twice. Damm finished with 23 aces and won 84 percent (38 of 45) first-serve points. He outpointed Mannarino 70-69 but it wasn’t enough. While Mannarino hit 19 winners and 14 unforced errors, Damm’s 41 winners were overshadowed by his 35 unforced errors.

“That was a battle. He started so well, putting me under a lot of pressure,” Mannarino admitted. “From the first shot, his service return was amazing. I could only try my best. I had a small [opportunity] in the second set and I made it. Kind of the same scenario in the third set. It went my way.

“It’s pretty crazy, but I’m happy with that.”  

Auger-Aliassime holds off Droguet, through to 13th ATP indoor final

Defending champion Felix Auger-Aliassime defeated 150th-ranked French qualifier Titouan Droguet in a tougher-than-anticipated three-setter to reach Sunday’s final and keep his hopes alive of winning a second-straight Montpellier title 

Auger-Aliassime put away the 53-minute opening set 6-4, after leaping high to swap a forehand winner – his 19th winner of the first set. The Canadian No. 1, despite not being able to convert any of five break points that he held on Droguet in the young Frenchman’s second service game, put a lot of pressure on his opponent that contributed to the 14 unforced errors made by Droguet.

In the second set at 4-all, Droguet saved a break point to fight off the charge of the World No. 8 Auger-Aliassime. Then, he fired a pair of aces, his 10th and 11th, to stay in the game. Later, he hit his 21st winner on a forehand return that gave him a game point and struck an inside-out winner to hold for 5-4, ending an exciting 14-point ninth game.

Soon, at 5-all, 40-40, Droguet earned a game point when Auger-Aliassime netted a return and held after the Canadian sailed a forehand long. After the changeover, Auger-Aliassime held at 15 to set up a second-set tie-break. A 5-5 in the tie-break, Droguet went ahead with a brilliant, topspin backhand lob winner that landed just inside the baseline. Then, he won it after firing his 13th ace of the match.

In the third set, after saving a pair of break points at 1-all, Auger-Aliassime reeled off five straight games to win going away. He finished the match with 47 winners – including 20 aces – and saved all three break points he faced. Auger-Aliassime converted three of 10 break points and outpointed Droguet 117-96.

Now, after previously beating Frenchmen Arthur Fils and Droguet, Auger-Aliassime, a Montreal native who speaks French fluently, will face another home favorite in No. 70 Adrian Mannarino as he attempts to win back-to-back Montpellier titles.

“I love it. I like to play like this,” Auger-Aliassime said during his on-court interview. “It’s much better to play with such an atmosphere than to play in front of no people, or not have the people engaged in the match. It’s great for sure.”

Auger-Aliassime leads all players in indoor wins this decade (88) and has won seven ATP Tour titles.

Around Sud de France Arena

No. 3 seeds Constantin Frantzen of Germany and Robin Haase of the Netherlands needed a match tie-break to defeat No. 2 seeds Jakob Schnaitter and Mark Wallner of Germany in a semifinal doubles match on Court Patrice Dominguez.

Frantzen and Haase held off the German duo, 7-6 (5), 6-7 (4), 10-8, in an hour and 52 minutes to win. They combined to hit six aces, saved four of five break points and outpointed their opponents 85-80.

Next, Frantzen and Haase will face No. 4 seeds Theo Arribage and Albano Olivetti of France in Sunday’s title match. Last year, Haase won the Montpellier title with fellow Dutchman Botic van de Zandschulp. In 2023, Haase won it with Matwe Middelkoop of the Netherlands.

Saturday’s Open Occitanie results

Sunday’s Open Occitanie order of play

By the numbers

Top seed Felix Auger-Aliassime has reached his 21st ATP Tour final – his 13th indoors – which makes him the fifth player to reach multiple Montpellier finals. He’s 13-1 versus Frenchmen since the start of 2025 season (losing only to Arthur Rinderknech at the ATP Masters 1000 Shanghai quarterfinals).

“Quotable …”

“Yeah, for sure. You know, playing in this condition when you’re having a hard time feeling the match, when you start feeling it inside and the crowd [is] cheering for you, it’s something special. Today was a big win.”

– Adrian Mannarino of France, who has reached an ATP Tour final in his home country for the first time in his career, during his on-court interview.

 

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