Katie Boulter has sent a cheeky message to her Aussie partner Alex de Minaur after he snapped his ATP title drought in the Netherlands on the weekend.
De Minaur sealed a landmark week by delivering a masterful performance to defeat the red-hot Felix Auger-Aliassime and finally land one of the biggest titles of his career at the Rotterdam Open.
It was three times the charm for the Aussie, who had fallen in the final the last two attempts, becoming just the second Australian behind Lleyton Hewitt to claim the prestigious trophy.
It came just one week after Boulter ended her own title drought with an emotional victory over Tamara Korpatsch at the Ostrava Open.
And she had an adorable response to her fiancée stealing her thunder at the Rotterdam Open.
‘He just can’t let me have a week,’ she posted to social media with a laughing emoji.
Alex de Minaur of Australia holds the winners trophy after defeating Felix Auger-Aliassime of Canada in the ABN AMRO Open Mens Singles Final at Rotterdam Ahoy
His fiancée Katie Boulter had a cheeky response after breaking her title drought the week before
‘Stop copying me. Another week, another title.’
The Australian produced some of his finest tennis on Sunday (Monday AEDT) to crush the Canadian world No.6, who had won the Montpellier Open just a week earlier and whose service had been seemingly unbreakable.
But after 78 consecutive service holds, Auger-Aliassime had his delivery finally dismantled by world No.8 de Minaur in the first set, before the inspired Sydneysider roared on to lift his first ever indoor title with a 6-3 6-2 win.
It was a reward for the dogged Aussie’s perseverance as he finally lifted the title at one of his favourite hard-court tournaments after losing the last two finals to Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz.
‘I mean, third time lucky,’ beamed the 26-year-old. ‘I’m so super happy. It ended up being a great week here, a place where I always feel really, really good.
‘I was just a step short the previous years, so it feels great to finally be able to lift the title.’
The sport’s top-two powerhouses may not have been in the Netherlands this week, but Auger-Aliassime had been in the form of his life, having destroyed Alexander Bublik in the semis in what he felt was a near-perfect performance.
But de Minaur, the first to make it to three-straight finals at the Ahoy Arena tournament, found a completely new level after some slightly chequered form during the week as he took just 77 minutes to become only the second Australian winner in the prestigious tournament’s 54-year history.
Emulating 2004 winner Lleyton Hewitt, de Minaur never let the 25-year-old indoor specialist Auger-Aliassime settle from the start as he attacked aggressively and dominated the baseline exchanges.
He still needed two scintillating passes to finally crack Auger-Aliassime’s serve in the sixth game, but then never relented.
In his semi-final slog against Ugo Humbert, de Minaur had only managed three winners; this time, he uncorked 10 beauties, while the Canadian, with all his superior firepower, managed only six.
The Canadian was just not allowed to revisit the dazzling form he’d shown all week thanks to de Minaur’s constant pressing – and near the end, it seemed his eight-win streak might have taken too much out of him as he needed treatment for an apparent hip problem.
That, though, shouldn’t detract from de Minaur’s exceptional performance as he outplayed the man with whom he’s enjoyed a 10-match rivalry since they were kids. Auger-Aliassime had held a 6-3 win record, but admitted this time: ‘Alex was just a bit too good.’
‘For sure, it was my best tennis of the week, and that’s what it’s all about, just doing my best to rise up to the occasion,’ said de Minaur, who ended up with three breaks but didn’t give up a single break point on his own delivery.
After impressing one royal watcher in particular – Prince Constantine of the Netherlands had a courtside seat – de Minaur declared: ‘Every day I got better, and I’m super pleased with the performance.’
It was his fifth triumph in an ATP 500 event — the tournaments directly below Masters and grand slam level in which he’s won more matches than anyone (53) since the start of 2023.
But he’ll be desperate to use this early-season victory as a springboard for success at the highest levels after his 11th ATP triumph put him joint-sixth alongside Mark Philippoussis and Pat Rafter in the all-time Australian men’s champions list in the open era.
