"Paula Badosa broke her back to get Stefanos Tsitsipas this" - Fans react to Greek beating Felix Auger-Aliassime to win maiden ATP 500 title in Dubai

Tennis fans recently reacted to Stefanos Tsitsipas emerging victorious over Felix Auger-Aliassime to claim his first ATP 500 title at the 2025 Dubai Tennis Championships. Tsitsipas had finished as the runner-up in the tournament twice before, in 2019 and 2020, falling short against tennis legends Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic, respectively in the finals.

This year, Tsitsipas was seeded fourth in the ATP 500 hard court event in Dubai and he kicked off his journey by defeating Lorenzo Sonego 7-6(4), 6-3 in the first round and then overcoming Karen Khachanov 7-6(4), 2-6, 6-4 in the second round.

The Greek then triumphed over Matteo Berrettini 7-6(5), 1-6, 6-4 and Tallon Griekspoor 6-4, 6-4 in the quarterfinals and semifinals, respectively. In the final, Stefanos Tsitsipas defeated Felix Auger-Aliassime in straight sets, 6–3, 6–3, in just under an hour and a half to secure the 2025 Dubai Tennis Championships title, his first ATP 500 title and his 12th ATP Tour title overall.

Following Stefanos Tsitsipas's win, tennis fans took to social media to react to the win as well as share their opinions on the same. One fan humorously attributed his success to his girlfriend, Paula Badosa.

"Paula [Badosa] broke her back to get him this," a fan posted.

Another fan deemed Stefanos Tsitsipas's winning the Dubai Tennis Championships a "crazy win."

"This is crazy win considering that he just lost to a player that couldn’t walk a couple weeks ago," a fan wrote.

"Tsitsipas played the best tennis of his career this week, was so disciplined, focused, and determined on winning! On his 12 attempt, captures his 1st ATP 500 title 👏🏼 👏🏼 👏🏼 💪🏼 Never gave up and turned struggles & difficulties into an opportunity to regroup and succeed! 🎉 ❤️ 👌🏼 💪🏼 💪🏼 ," a fan posted.

"Redemption for Tsitsipas after losing his two previous finals here to Federer & Djokovic! That was a masterclass in clutch tennis. He was outplayed in many moments of that match, but was just ridiculously good in the big points. Back in the top 10 & great signs for the season! 🔥 " a fan wrote.

Here are some other fan reactions:

"A good win for him. Good to see him back where he can win a title again. The lack of form was temporary as I knew he would eventually get it again even if it took time. You don't just lose the skill and talent just like that. Hopefully he is back for good," a fan posted.

"He was absolutely flawless & the best player of the tournament. He played very well & deserved the trophy," a fan wrote.

"It was always Tsitsipas. You don’t tweet out absolute knee slapping one liners about streaming ads and money going into a tournament unless you are confident, cool and collected," a fan posted.

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Stefanos Tsitsipas will next compete at the Indian Wells Masters 2025

Stefanos Tsitsipas at the 2024 Indian Wells Open [Image Source: Getty Images]

Stefanos Tsitsipas will next compete at the 2025 Indian Wells Masters, which will take place from March 2 to March 16, 2025, at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden. Apart from Tsitsipas, players such as Carlos Alcaraz, Novak Djokovic, Alexander Zverev, Taylor Fritz, Casper Ruud, Daniil Medvedev and Alex de Minaur will also feature at the ATP Masters 1000 hard court tournament in California.

In 2024, Tsitsipas was seeded 11th and kicked off his campaign in the second round after receiving a first-round bye. He secured a convincing victory over qualifier Lucas Pouille with a score of 6-3, 6-2 in his opening match. He then triumphed over 18th seed Frances Tiafoe 6-3, 6-3 in the third round before losing to 32nd seed Jiri Lehecka with a score of 2-6, 4-6 in the quarterfinals.

Stefanos Tsitsipas's best performance at Indian Wells was in 2021 when he reached the quarterfinals. He defeated Pedro Martinez 6-2, 6-4, Fabio Fognini 2-6, 6-3, 6-4, and Alex de Minaur 6-7(3), 7-6(3), 6-2 before falling to the eventual runner-up Nikoloz Basilashvili with a score of 4-6, 6-2, 4-6 in the last eight.