Stefanos Tsitsipas on Saturday beat Felix Auger-Aliassime 6-3 6-3 in straight-set to lift the final of the Dubai Tennis Championships.
The 26-year-old Greek secured a maiden ATP 500 title with victory over his in-form Canadian opponent.
The fourth seed had reached the final of the tournament twice before, losing to Novak Djokovic in 2019 and then again to Roger Federer a year later.
Saturday’s win was world number 11 Tsitsipas’ 12th tour-level title, and the biggest outdoor hard-court trophy of his career.
He defeated 24-year-old Auger-Aliassime – who is leading the ATP Tour this season with 16 match wins and two titles – in one hour and 28 minutes, and will return to the top 10 of the world rankings on Monday for the first time since May 2024.
In a related development, Jannik Sinner’s nomination for the Laureus World Sportsman of the Year award was withdrawn after a three-month doping ban.
The 23-year-old Italian, who won the Australian Open in January, is suspended from 9 February until 4 May.
“Following discussions by the Laureus Academy, it has been decided that Jannik Sinner’s nomination for this year’s Laureus World Sportsman of the Year Award is to be withdrawn.
“We have followed this case, the decisions of the relevant global bodies and – whilst we note the extenuating circumstances involved – feel that the three-month ban renders the nomination ineligible,” Sean Fitzpatrick, chairman, Laureus World Sports Academy, said following the withdrawal.
The world number one accepted an immediate three-month ban from tennis earlier this month after reaching a settlement with the World Anti-Doping Agency over his two positive drugs tests last year.
