Preview European Open Final: Felix Auger-Aliassime’s hot streak meets Lehecka’s consistent year

The final of the European Open will be played this Sunday, October 19 in its first edition since the change of venue—from Antwerp to Brussels—and will feature two players who already know what it's like to reach the final. The 2022 champion Félix Auger-Aliassime will face the Czech Jiri Lehecka, the runner-up in 2024.

The semi-final matches went smoothly, with the Czech eliminating the 5th seed Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard in straight sets, while Félix comfortably defeated local wildcard Raphael Collignon.

Félix Auger-Aliassime is going for the 8th title of his career and his second at the European Open—after winning the title in 2022, defeating Sebastian Korda. The Canadian won two ATP 250 titles at the start of this year (Adelaide and Lyon), and could secure his third crown of the season, a mark achieved by only four other players this year.

The World No. 13 capitalized on a week where he did not cross paths with big names on the Tour. After overcoming a tight first round against Damir Dzumhur (No. 67), he then defeated qualifier Elito Spizzirri (No. 111) and local wildcard Raphael Collignon (No. 90). The Canadian will play the 19th final of his career (7-11 so far) and will look to continue his strong finish to the year, boasting a 14-3 record since the Cincinnati Open—with only two of those losses coming against Jannik Sinner.

This will be an interesting opportunity for Félix to continue accumulating points, as he currently sits in an intriguing 9th place in the ATP Race with a live hope of qualifying for the ATP Finals in Turin, as well as finishing the year inside the Top-10. If he wins the title, he will be about 300 points behind Musetti in the Race, with several tournaments still pending—two for Musetti and three for Auger-Aliassime.

The World No. 17 Jiri Lehecka is going for his 7th career final in his third final of the season. Like his rival Auger-Aliassime, Lehecka began the season by winning a title (Brisbane) and later in the year, he lost in the final of the Queen's Club Championships to Alcaraz. In any case, it has been a consistent year for the Czech, who went from being ranked just No. 38 in May of this year to a consolidated Top-20 player.

The 3rd seed—who received a bye in the first round—comfortably defeated Gilles Arnaud Bailly (No. 247) and then benefited from the retirement of Benjamin Bonzi (No. 53) in the third set of their quarter-final encounter. In the semi-finals, he overcame the always complicated Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard in two tie-breaks, setting up a clash with Félix in his third final of the season.

The 23-year-old Czech already played the final of this same tournament a year ago but lost to the experienced Roberto Bautista Agut in straight sets. This time, facing Auger-Aliassime, he has the chance for personal revenge in Belgium, with the possibility of returning to his best ranking at No. 16 if he claims the title—which would be the third of his career.

Currently, Félix Auger-Aliassime and Jiri Lehecka have only two previous meetings at the ATP Tour level. The first was an exciting battle in the Round of 16 of the 2023 Australian Open, where Lehecka was having his breakout tournament and secured a four-set victory over the 6th-seeded Canadian, marking his first appearance in a Grand Slam quarter-final.

The Canadian had the opportunity for revenge a year later at the Madrid Open, but unfortunately, only a handful of games were played in the semi-finals. With the score at 3-3, an injury forced Lehecka to retire, and Auger-Aliassime advanced to his first Masters 1000 final, albeit without a true chance to exact revenge on Lehecka. This time, on the hardcourts of Brussels, there will be no clear favorite in search of the first title of the European indoor hardcourt swing.