Felix Auger-Aliassime bolsters Turin chances with Brussels victory

Felix Auger-Aliassime charge towards a second berth at the ATP Finals is getting a boost from Brussels.

The Canadian captured the third title of his season and eighth of his career with a 7-6(2), 6-7(6), 6-2 victory over Czech Jiri Lehecka on Sunday, earning him a second trophy at the BNP Paribas Fortis European Open after his 2022 victory in Antwerp. Auger-Aliassime failed to convert two match points in the second-set tiebreak before emphatically taking victory with a dominant third.

By winning his quarterfinal, Auger-Aliassime jumped to ninth place in the race to the year-end championships in Turin. His title win narrows the gap between him and eighth-place Lorenzo Musetti to just 330 points.

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Musetti, who was Brussels' top seed, was upset by Frechman Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard in the quarterfinals.

The fall indoor season has been a particularly happy hunting ground for the Canadian in recent years, and he'll hope that similar success will push him into the ATP Finals for the first time since 2022. His 76 match wins are the most on indoor hard courts since the start of the 2020 season, according to the ATP, and he is a two-time champion at next week's ATP 500 Swiss Indoors in Basel.

As the No. 5 seed, will open his efforts for a third Basel title in the last four years against fellow Canadian Gabriel Diallo. Musetti, meanwhile, is competing concurrently in Vienna; the No. 4 seed in Austria, he opens against Stefanos Tsitsipas, who is playing for the first time since the US Open.

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While Auger-Aliassime may be doing some scoreboard watching as it pertains to Musetti, he has others behind him to keep an eye on, too. With No. 10 Jack Draper having already ended his season, Stockholm winner Casper Ruud and Almaty champion Daniil Medvedev also picked up 250 race points this week. Ruud is ranked No. 11, and Medvedev improved three spots to No. 12.

Ruud is the No. 4 seed in Basel, while Medvedev is seeded No. 6 in Vienna.