Auger-Aliassime Powers into Montpellier Final
Felix Auger-Aliassime turned the tide against qualifier Titouan Droguet in the Open Occitanie semifinals, his indoor command sealing a spot opposite Adrian Mannarino amid roaring French support.
In the charged air of the Sud de France Arena, Felix Auger-Aliassime stared down a raucous home crowd and a surging qualifier to reclaim his path to the Open Occitanie final. The top seed, defending his ATP 250 crown from last year, edged Titouan Droguet 6-4, 6-7(5), 6-1 in a match that swung on mental resets and sharper returns. With seven of his eight career titles forged indoors—where he leads the decade with 87 match wins—Auger-Aliassime channeled that edge to blunt Droguet’s breakout threat.
“I felt that even in the second set, my chance would come,” said the Canadian, who held firm against the big-serving Droguet. “It was good that I won the first set. It was giving me time to figure out how to break him. I think I served much better in the third set. I also returned better I think on second-serve return. I was hitting the ball more clean and really striking it well to different targets.”
Droguet’s fire forces a decider
Droguet, the French qualifier in his first tour-level semifinal against a Top 10 foe, unleashed 14 aces to keep Auger-Aliassime at bay through the opener. He pocketed the second set with a towering topspin lob at 5-5 in the tiebreak, the ball arcing high before dropping just inside the line, igniting the Montpellier faithful. Yet Auger-Aliassime saved all three break points he faced, his flat backhands slicing through the low indoor bounce to hold serve under pressure.
As the third set unfolded, Droguet clawed back to save two break points at 1-1, his big first serve booming off the hardcourt. But Auger-Aliassime stepped inside the baseline, chipping away at second serves with crosscourt angles that pinned the 5-foot-10 Frenchman deep. Converting three of 10 break chances, he rattled off five straight games, his inside-out forehands landing heavy and precise to end the two-hour scrap.
Indoor mastery fuels the surge
Auger-Aliassime’s indoor affinity turned the decider into a clinic, his 1–2 pattern—big serve into down-the-line backhand—exploiting the swift surface that favors flat hitters. After dispatching Arthur Fils in the quarters, this win marks his 21st tour-level final and 13th indoors, a rhythm that eases the grind of a packed 2026 schedule. The Canadian’s returns grew cleaner, targeting Droguet’s backhand to disrupt the qualifier’s topspin rhythm, while his own serve found sharper angles in the cooler confines.
“I love it. I like to play like this,” the World No. 8 said of the lively atmosphere against the Frenchmen. “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.”
The final is set @felixtennis will face @AdrianMannarino for the Montpellier title.@OpenOccitanie | #OpenOccitanie26 pic.twitter.com/OXeJxim8al
The final is set @felixtennis will face @AdrianMannarino for the Montpellier title.@OpenOccitanie | #OpenOccitanie26 pic.twitter.com/OXeJxim8al
— ATP Tour (@atptour) February 7, 2026
Mannarino’s grit sets up showdown
Across the draw, Adrian Mannarino summoned veteran poise to outlast American qualifier Martin Damm 1-6, 6-3, 6-4, reaching his 16th tour-level final and first on French soil at age 37—the oldest in tournament history. After a sluggish start where Damm’s aggressive flat groundstrokes overwhelmed him, Mannarino dialed in underspin slices to vary pace, breaking serve in the second with patient crosscourt exchanges. Now up to No. 51 in the PIF ATP Live Rankings, he chases a sixth title, his first since Sofia in 2023.
Damm, the 22-year-old who powered through qualifying before stunning Hubert Hurkacz and Roberto Bautista Agut in straight sets, then toppled Luca Nardi in the quarters, departs Montpellier 30 spots higher at No. 130. “It was a battle,” Mannarino said. “He was putting me under pressure from the first shots. I just had to try my best. I had a small chance in the second set and I made it and it was the same scenario in the third set. It went my way but it was pretty crazy.”
Sunday’s clash pits Auger-Aliassime’s power against Mannarino’s angles on the quick indoor courts, where crowd energy could tip the scales in this home-soil showdown. Both men, battle-tested through the week, arrive with momentum forged in resilience, ready to claim the Open Occitanie crown under the February 7, 2026 lights.
