TURIN, Italy – Felix Auger-Aliassime defeated two-time champion Alexander Zverev and secured a spot in the ATP Finals semifinals on Friday. The Canadian tennis player will face Carlos Alcaraz, who arrives after winning all three matches in his group and securing the top spot in the ranking at the end of the year.
Auger-Aliassime, seeded number eight, won with partials of 6-4 and 7-6 (4), joining Jannik Sinner in the Bjorn Borg group classification. Sinner, for his part, completed a perfect group stage by defeating Ben Shelton, already eliminated, with a score of 6-3 and 7-6 (3). Sinner will face Alex de Minaur, the seventh seed. The final will be played on Sunday. Zverev and Auger-Aliassime, both with semifinal aspirations, knew that the winner would advance. Auger-Aliassime showed greater control of nerves than Zverev, especially in the second set, although he wasted three set points in the first, before securing the victory in the fourth. Zverev couldn’t convert any of his four break opportunities and committed 18 of his 27 unforced errors in the second set, showing frustration towards his team.This is a high-value tournament for the players. It’s like a grand final and, looking at the list of champions, there have been many number 1s.
Felix Auger-Aliassime
Sinner, after seeing Alcaraz lift the trophy as number 1 shortly before his match, proved to be the man to beat in Turin. With the support of his local audience, the defending champion completed a flawless group stage. Sinner has not lost a set, nor a service game, all week. The Italian also did not lose a set in his five matches last year, on his way to the title.It’s incredible. I always believed I could be in these moments, that I could win these kinds of matches, but you have to come and do it.
Felix Auger-Aliassime
