Britain’s Cameron Norrie fell just short of a maiden ATP title for the second time in three weeks, as he was beaten 6-3 6-3 in the Lyon Open final by Stefanos Tsitsipas.
The Greek world number five, 22, took just 70 minutes to claim his seventh career title and second of the year.
He broke the British number two, ranked 44 places below him, twice in the second set to seal victory.
Tsitsipas has won the most matches on the ATP Tour in 2021 with 33.
In April, he won his first Masters 1,000 title at the Monte Carlo Masters and then reached the final in Barcelona, losing to Rafael Nadal after holding a championship point.
“I am proud of today’s match, I knew it would be a difficult one against Cameron who has been showing great tennis this week,” Tsitsipas said.
“He has been winning against good players and showing what the left hand can do on clay. It was not an easy match today.”
Norrie beat US Open champion Dominic Thiem in the last 16 in Lyon, and had a busy Saturday with two victories needed in one day to reach Sunday’s final.
While the 25-year-old has produced some of the finest form of his career on clay in the run up to the French Open – which starts on 30 May – a first ATP title continues to elude him.
He reached the Estoril Open final earlier in May where he was beaten by Albert Ramos-Vinolas.
