Stefanos Tsitsipas won his first title in almost a year and broke a finals hoodoo as he cruised past Felix Auger-Aliassime 6-3 6-3 in the Dubai final on Saturday.
"There is nothing that ensured the win today, it was just pure fighting," said Tsitsipas after winning in one hour and 28 minutes.
The victory ended a losing streak in ATP 500-level finals for the Greek.
He has won the season-ending ATP Finals and at the tour's top-level 1000 events, but had lost all of his previous 11 finals at 500 tournaments.
Those defeats included two losses in Dubai -- to Roger Federer in 2019 and Novak Djokovic in 2020.
"It's a big relief that I'm able to hold that trophy after the third attempt," the fourth-seeded Tsitsipas said on court.
"It's something that I had in the back of my mind, and I'm happy to say I accomplished it."
Auger-Aliassime, an unseeded Canadian, had made a strong start to the season, winning tournaments in Adelaide in January and Montpellier in February.
"I had a great opponent on the other side of the net, I knew it was a difficult task," said Tsitsipas. "I'm just proud of the way I managed the pressure and was able to perform in those crucial moments."
Tsitsipas dominated from the baseline. He did not drop serve, despite facing break points twice in each set. In the first set he broke the Canadian in the seventh and ninth games and in the second took the decisive break in the eighth game.
Tsitsipas, who was ranked No.3 in the world in early 2023 but had slipped to 11th, will move up to ninth when the updated ATP rankings are released on Monday.
"These are the things we are fighting for as professional tennis players," said Tsitsipas.
"To be owning a spot in the top 10 is definitely one of the greatest feelings a tennis player can experience. It comes with hard work and sacrifices, but I'm happy that I'm in a position where I can really celebrate."
With AFP
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