Montreal’s Félix Auger-Aliassime secured his spot in the semifinals of the ATP Finals for the first time in his career by defeating Alexander Zverev of Germany with a score of 6-4, 7-6 (4) on Friday. Auger-Aliassime, 25, improved his round-robin record to 2-1, finishing second in the Bjorn Borg Group. He is set to face the world No. 1 Carlos Alcaraz of Spain in the semifinals on Saturday at the prestigious season-ending event.
Auger-Aliassime, seeded eighth in Turin, managed to break Zverev’s serve in the final game of the first set. Despite Zverev having four break point opportunities, he failed to convert any of them and committed 18 of his 27 unforced errors in the second set, showing signs of frustration towards his team during the match.
In the tiebreaker, Zverev made a crucial error by hitting a forehand long, allowing Auger-Aliassime to secure the victory with two match points. Auger-Aliassime, now ranked No. 5 in the ATP Live Rankings, described the match as tense but highlighted his ability to hold serve and stay focused during critical moments.
This victory improved Auger-Aliassime’s head-to-head record against Zverev to 4-6, with the Canadian winning both encounters this year. On the other hand, Zverev, a two-time ATP Finals champion, dropped to a 1-2 record and failed to progress from the group stage along with American Ben Shelton (0-3).
Defending champion and world No. 2 Jannik Sinner of Italy remained unbeaten in the tournament, securing the top spot in his group. Sinner will face No. 7 Alex de Minaur of Australia in the other semifinal match after defeating Shelton 6-3, 7-6 (3) in their recent encounter.
Looking ahead to his semifinal clash with Alcaraz, Auger-Aliassime acknowledged the significance of the tournament and expressed his readiness to face a formidable opponent. Alcaraz, who topped the Jimmy Connors group, has been in impressive form, ensuring his season-end No. 1 ranking on the ATP Tour.
Auger-Aliassime, making his second appearance at the ATP Finals, reflected on his previous year’s performance and the challenges he faced. Despite a rocky start in the current tournament, he showed resilience by bouncing back from an initial setback and putting himself in contention for a spot in the semifinals.