Felix Auger-Aliassime claimed a huge win at the ATP Finals to keep alive his hopes of reaching the semifinals in Turin.
Auger-Aliassime came from a set behind to beat Ben Shelton and set up an intriguing final round robin match against Alexander Zverev.
Auger-Aliassime had to clear up injury concerns ahead of this match with Shelton, but after losing the first set 6-4, he roared back to claim the next two 7-6, 7-5.
A Canadian player, Auger-Aliassime, has made big changes to his game since reaching the ATP Finals in 2022, and he will be delighted that his qualification hopes are still alive.
Auger-Aliassime was delighted to get automatic qualification to the event, and it proves his just reward after a solid second half of 2025.
Felix Auger-Aliassime shares what was odd about win over Ben Shelton
Auger-Aliassime appears hellbent on making his final tournament of 2025 a big one, and he will now fancy his chances of making the semifinals.
The match was a strange one from the get-go, really, with both players having good moments and bad in a rollercoaster match-up.
Auger-Aliassime admits there was something weird about the match that made for a bit of a nervy start.
He said in his on-court interview: “You try to just win the next point. It was one of those days where he was just playing much better than me at the start.
“It is not often I get broken twice, and indoors, it was a weird start. I was not feeling great. But as the match went on, I found a way to put returns in court, and once we engaged in rallies, I could win maybe a few more rallies.”
Auger-Aliassime did recover from the early breaks, and after brushing up in that area, he wasn’t broken again in the entire match by Shelton.
Felix Auger-Aliassime shares what was different from his first match
Losing to Jannik Sinner in 2025 is no real shock, and Auger-Aliassime has plenty of experience losing to him lately after being beaten in the Paris Masters final.
But, he was able to bounce back here and claim a big victory to give his chances of reaching the semifinals a sizeable lift.
Auger-Aliassime had a theory about what proved better for him in this match with Shelton than it did over Sinner on Monday.
He said: “I felt great physically. We recovered well with the team, we did the right things, and today I was able to play two and a half hours of high-intensity and quality tennis.
“I had to give him credit. He kept coming up with great serves. I felt like I wanted to put pressure on him and make him doubt when serving but he was still coming up with the goods.
“When the opponent plays that way but also to myself for staying cool and finding a way to get through.”
Auger-Aliassime has met Zverev nine times in his career, winning three and losing six, with their next meeting at the ATP Finals holding extra meaning.
The Canadian is trying to finish the year in the top five, whilst Zverev will be looking for retribution after losing in the quarterfinal of the US Open back in August.
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