Felix Auger-Aliassime's first trip to an ATP Tour final ended with a 6-3, 7-5 loss to Serbia's Laslo Djere to conclude the Rio Open on Sunday.
After defeating No. 63 ranked Pablo Cuevas in the semifinal of the tournament Saturday, Auger-Aliassime became the youngest player to ever reach the final of an ATP 500 event. The 104th ranked teenager had defeated Fabio Fognini, Christian Garin, Jaume Munar and Cuevas to reach Sunday's final.
"It's disappointing because I was playing for a title, it was big for me," Auger-Aliassime said after the loss. "But at the same time, I'm not going to lose too much sleep over that loss, I've done good things this week."A nervy set of tennis from Félix goes against him. Legs not quite there yet as he drops serve for a fourth time to give Djere the set 6-3.
— Tennis Canada (@TennisCanada) February 24, 2019
Can only go up from here. The fightback begins now! #FélixRising
(📷: #RioOpen/FotoJump) pic.twitter.com/fP4W0cxLrI
Nerves were a factor for both the 18-year-old Auger-Aliassime and 23-year-old Djere. The No. 90 ranked Djere won his first three break points in the first set allowing him to gain an early lead. Djere capitalized on Auger-Aliassime committing nearly twice as many unforced errors (47 to 27), his nine double faults and broke him six times over the course of the match.
“I tried my best, but I wasn’t good enough tonight. I’ll keep working. See you next year. Obrigado!”
— Tennis Canada (@TennisCanada) February 24, 2019
A champion, even in defeat. What a week, @felixtennis! #FélixRising pic.twitter.com/eBUSJqEX21
In the second set, the Montreal native jumped out to a 3-1 lead but his service issues from the first set persisted. After he double-faulted twice with a 3-2 lead, Auger-Aliassime allowed Djere to come back and tie the set before eventually losing the match on the fifth match point.
Despite the loss, Auger-Aliassime is expected to move into the ATP's top 60 when the latest rankings are released Monday.