Alex de Minaur races to second title of 2024 in 's-Hertogenbosch, set to hit career-high ranking

Alex de Minaur held off a late surge from Sebastian Korda, as well as advancing rain, to win his second title of the season on Sunday at the Libéma Open, 6-2, 6-4.

De Minaur's semifinal victory over Ugo Humbert already assured he'd reach a new career-high ranking on Monday, and his second career grass-court title will push him up to world No. 7 in next week's rankings.

Looking to snap a four-match losing streak in ATP singles finals, Korda had reason to enter the final with confidence despite a losing head-to-head record against de Minaur. He hadn't dropped a set entering Sunday's final, which included a quarterfinal win over No. 2 seed Tommy Paul and a semifinal win over defending champion Tallon Griekspoor, and his lone win against the Aussie previously came on grass, in four sets at Wimbledon three years ago.

But there was little for Korda to cheer about in the first two-thirds of the match. From 2-2 in the first set, de Minaur streaked to six straight games, with expertly-struck groundstroke angles and pinpoint lobs leaving the American frustrated in windy conditions.

The tenor of the match changed as skies continued to darken, after rain had affected the schedule throughout the week. De Minaur escaped a 0-40 deficit to extend his lead to 6-2, 5-2, and had two championship points in Korda's next service game. But Korda brushed them aside, and broke de Minaur for a second time when the Aussie served for the title, two forehand errors helping the American's cause.

After Korda received a medical timeout for blisters on the bottom of one of his feet, a titanic final game finished the match. The No. 7 seed had three chances to level the set at 5-5, and saved a third championship point, but de Minaur would ultimately not be denied.

"It was a great match, tricky conditions. Seb is a hell of a player ... I'm super happy with the win, with the week. It's been great," de Minaur said after the match. "It achieves a new career-high for me, so that's always a little bonus, and the first week on grass couldn't have gone every better.

"I'm looking forward to the whole grass-court season with a smile on my face."

De Minaur has now won nine ATP singles titles in his career, and will next play at Queen's Club next week as the defending singles finalist, as well as in doubles with Korda.

"You're going to be a menace this whole grass-court season," de Minaur told Korda in the trophy presentation. "I'm looking forward to the doubles next week. Hopefully we can have some fun, and you can carry me."