Alex de Minaur claimed the Rotterdam Open title at the third time of asking on Sunday, producing his trademark counterpunching display to defeat Felix Auger-Aliassime 6-3, 6-2.

The Australian top seed had previously finished runner-up in Rotterdam, losing finals to Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz. With the world’s top two absent this year, De Minaur seized his opportunity to finally lift the trophy.

“It feels great to finally be able to lift the title,” said the world number eight. “Every day I got better, and I’m super pleased with the performance today.”

Auger-Aliassime tested the 26-year-old throughout, but De Minaur absorbed the pressure with relentless retrieving and consistency from the baseline to take control of the final.

After early holds of serve, De Minaur made the breakthrough in the sixth game of the opening set, breaking with a spectacular backhand winner up the line following a series of trademark defensive gets. He closed out the first set 6-3 behind strong serving, while the Canadian struggled with 14 unforced errors, many off the forehand side.

The second set followed a similar pattern. On serve until the fifth game, De Minaur broke to love after back-to-back double faults from Auger-Aliassime. The Canadian briefly left the court for a medical time-out, though he showed no obvious movement issues on his return.

Any hopes of a comeback quickly faded as De Minaur broke again to love, with Auger-Aliassime netting a forehand to leave the Australian serving for the championship. He sealed victory with his first ace of the match, raising his arms in triumph and relief.

“Third time lucky. We finally managed to get the title,” De Minaur said during the trophy ceremony. “It’s been one of my favourite spots on the calendar. I love coming back here in Rotterdam. I’ve played some of my best tennis here, and I finally get the reward.”

Auger-Aliassime was gracious in defeat. “He had no holes in his game and I couldn’t find a way,” the Canadian said. “Sometimes I have to accept the loss and the fact that my opponent was better, and today he definitely was.”