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The No.4 seed lost consective finals in the United Arab Emirates city in 2019 and 2020, but made it third time lucky on this outing with a solid performance to sink his Canadian rival and claim a 12th tour-level title. 

“There is nothing that ensured the win today, it was just pure fighting,” Tsitsipas said after the win.

“It’s a big relief that I’m able to hold that trophy after the third attempt. It’s something that I had in the back of my mind, and I’m happy to say I accomplished it. I had a great opponent on the other side of the net, I knew it was a difficult task. I’m just proud of the way I managed the pressure and was able to perform in those crucial moments.

“These are the things we are fighting for as professional tennis players.”

Tsitsipas will return to No.9 on the world rankings this week, and was delighted to hear that news.

“To be owning a spot in the top 10 is definitely one of the greatest feelings a tennis player can experience. It comes with hard work and sacrifices, but I’m happy that I’m in a position where I can really celebrate.”

Beating Auger-Aliassime so comprehensively was no mean feat for the Greek, considering the Canadian leads the ATP Tour in wins this season with 16.

Having won in Adelaide and Montpellier already this year, Auger-Aliassime was disappointed not to have pushed Tsitsipas harder in this final.

“Tonight wasn’t meant to be, but congrats to Stefanos and his team,” he said. “We’ve known each other a long time, but tonight you played at a very high level – I can say that for sure. I’ll push to get better and hopefully we'll have more chances to play finals in the future.”