Preview Open Occitanie Final | Felix Auger-Aliassime looks to defend the title against local hope Adrian Mannarino

The ATP 250 Open Occitanie will have its final this Sunday, in which defending champion Felix Auger-Aliassime will face the last remaining local hope: veteran Adrian Mannarino, the first French finalist in Montpellier since 2020, who will be aiming to return the glory to a home player.

Since the tournament moved from Lyon to Montpellier in 2010, the French players have been dominant: eight of the first ten editions featured a local champion, while the remaining two also had a French finalist (in addition to the fact that five of them were all-French finals). However, since 2021 there had not been a Frenchman in the final, something that will be broken this Sunday, with the veteran Mannarino chasing the sixth title of his career – and potentially the first on French soil.

Opposite him will be an indoor specialist such as Auger-Aliassime, who is seeking the ninth title of his career – as well as the first of the season. After starting the year with an injury at the Australian Open, Felix now has the chance to quickly get his season back on track and fight for a new career title, which would also allow him to climb positions in the rankings.

After a notable 2025 season, Auger-Aliassime (No. 8) exited the Australian Open prematurely, retiring mid-match in his first-round encounter against Nuno Borges. As the seventh seed in the draw, he became the first big name to be eliminated in Melbourne, and the physical issues raised doubts about what would follow in the coming weeks. This time in Montpellier, however, Auger-Aliassime has quickly rediscovered his game, under conditions that suit him particularly well.

The top seed arrived to defend his 2025 title, and so far everything has gone according to expectations. Straight-set victories over Stan Wawrinka and Arthur Fils (6th seed), as well as a solid battle against Titouan Droguet in the semifinals – which became more complicated than expected after the local player claimed the second-set tie-break, but ultimately ended without major trouble in Felix’s favour (6-4, 6-7, 6-1).

Auger-Aliassime has already secured a rise of one position to No. 7 – while in the event of lifting the title he would overtake Fritz and move up to No. 6. Defending a title is always complicated, and for the Canadian this could be the second time in his career that he wins back-to-back titles in consecutive years – something he previously achieved at the Swiss Indoors Basel (2022 and 2023). Auger-Aliassime has reached six finals since the start of 2025, winning three titles and losing two of them.

Veteran Adrian Mannarino (No. 70) has been a player who achieved his greatest successes in the later stages of his career, despite always standing out as a particular talent on the Tour – and remaining consistently in the upper areas of the rankings. Still, he managed to win just one title in his first ten finals played up until 2020 – when he was already 32 years old.

However, the Frenchman has found renewed inspiration in the years that followed, winning four titles in his next five finals and reaching his career-high ranking of No. 17 in 2023 – already at 35 years of age. Mannarino is looking to continue showing that even at an advanced stage of his career he can compete with the best, and he will be chasing a new title – for the first time as a home player, something that could serve as extra motivation to pull off a surprise this Sunday. This week he defeated opponents such as Ugo Humbert (5th seed) and Pedro Martinez, which ensured a jump of up to 18 positions in the live rankings to No. 52.

A great opportunity for Mannarino, who in the event of lifting the trophy would return to the top 45 and once again give the Occitanie Open title to a local player for the first time since Gaël Monfils achieved it in 2020 – precisely by defeating a Canadian, Vasek Pospisil, in straight sets.

A duel can be expected in which both players will look to dominate with their serve and avoid long rallies. Auger-Aliassime can gain an advantage if the encounter becomes too physical. Mannarino is known for his unpredictable playing style, which can force Auger-Aliassime out of his comfort zone and destabilise the baseline game of the 25-year-old.

They have faced each other twice before, with one win apiece. While Mannarino claimed the victory in Cincinnati 2023 (6-4, 6-4), a year later Auger-Aliassime took revenge on the clay courts of the Madrid Open (6-0, 6-4). The Canadian enters this occasion as the favourite, but a confident Mannarino with home support on his side will certainly be ready to spring a surprise.