Felix Auger-Aliassime and Adrian Mannarino will be clashing for the third time in their careers when they fight for the Open Occitanie title on Sunday.
Auger-Aliassime is the defending champion in Montpellier, and his trip back to the finals is not surprising at all. Top-seeded Canada is an absolute power indoors, so they go into this tournament as heavy favorites. Auger-Aliassime also played like it, beating Stan Wawrinka, Arthur Fils, and Titouan Droguet without a problem. The world No. 8 dropped a set to Droguet in the semis, but quickly won the third set 6-1.
Although Mannarino has not been playing well, his appearance in the final is not expected. After all, the 37-year-old is used to doing well at home – and is playing at home in France this week. Mannarino took a more circuitous route to the championship match than Auger-Aliassime, needing three sets against Ugo Humbert, Arthur Gea, and Martin Damm after opening with a routine victory over Pedro Martinez.
Mannarino is coming off three tough games and will be playing a ton of defense on Sunday, so this will be a tough situation for the veteran. Auger-Aliassime may be on her way to a ninth ATP title – and an eighth on indoor hard courts.
Select: Auger-Aliassime in 2
