Felix Auger-Aliassime has advanced to the knockout stage of the ATP Finals for the first time in his career.
Canada’s Felix Auger-Aliassime secured a semi-final berth against world number one Carlos Alcaraz after defeating Germany’s Alexander Zverev in their final group match at the ATP Finals.
In a decisive must-win encounter, both players struggled to find their peak form, accumulating a combined 55 unforced errors. However, two-time champion Zverev was ultimately undone by his inability to convert any of his four break point opportunities. Auger-Aliassime held firm, prevailing 6-4, 7-6 (7-4) to claim the second spot in the Bjorn Borg Group, trailing behind Jannik Sinner.
Earlier on Friday, defending champion Sinner of Italy maintained his unblemished record, defeating the already-eliminated Ben Shelton 6-3, 7-6 (7-3), extending his winning streak to 13 matches.
Auger-Aliassime’s victory marks his 19th in 24 matches on indoor hard courts in 2025, a run that includes titles in Brussels and Montpellier. However, the eighth seed acknowledges the challenge ahead against Alcaraz, whom he has not defeated since 2022.
“This is the grand finale, and when you look at the list of champions, it’s pretty much just world number ones,” Auger-Aliassime stated.
“You aspire to be in finals. I’m going to have to overcome a great player, but I’m going to seize my chance if it arises.”
Zverev, increasingly frustrated, experienced a sense of déjà vu, having squandered seven break points in his previous straight-sets loss to Sinner on Wednesday.
After an almost impenetrable serving display, conceding just three points in his initial four service games, a series of errors in the tenth game – including a missed routine volley at deuce – gifted Auger-Aliassime the first set.
In a disjointed second set, four consecutive games went to deuce, and Zverev twice served to stay in the match. Ultimately, Auger-Aliassime broke the German’s resistance in the tie-break, with Zverev committing a weary forehand error on match point.
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Jannik Sinner is aiming for his sixth title of 2025.
Italian Sinner has cautioned that Alex de Minaur “doesn’t have a lot to lose” in their semi-final clash.
Sinner reached the semi-finals without dropping a set or a service game, demonstrating his clinical edge against Shelton by converting two of his three break-point opportunities in the first set and clinching victory in the tie-break with his second match point.
Maintaining efficient serving throughout the match, he denied Shelton’s only break point – he has now saved all eight he has faced in Turin – and conceded just seven points in six second-set service games.
The 24-year-old, targeting a third consecutive appearance in the final at the end-of-season showpiece, holds a 12-0 record against seventh-seeded De Minaur but remains wary of underestimating the Australian, who upset Taylor Fritz to secure second place in the Jimmy Connors Group.
“I’m very happy for [De Minaur],” Sinner said. “Props to him for coming back with that performance [against Fritz]. It’s one of the best matches I’ve seen him play.
“I have to be very careful – he doesn’t have a lot to lose. It’s going to be very difficult.”
In the doubles competition, a 7-6 (7-5), 6-2 victory for Henry Patten and his Finnish partner Harri Heliovaara over Marcelo Arevalo and Mate Pavic means there will be five British players in the semi-finals – the highest representation from a single nation since 1992.
British duo Joe Salisbury and Neal Skupski, who had already qualified, maintained their perfect record with a 7-5, 6-3 win against Christian Harrison and Evan King and will face fellow Britons and year-end number ones Julian Cash and Lloyd Glasspool in the last four.
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