Auger-Aliassime Grabs Last Turin Semifinal Spot With Zverev Victory

Felix Auger-Aliassime
Felix Auger-Aliassime (photo: Giampiero Sposito/FITP)

TURIN/WASHINGTON, November 14, 2025 (by Michael Dickens)

With one final group stage match to decide the last spot in the Nitto ATP Finals semifinals line-up, World No. 3 Alexander Zverev of Germany and World No. 8 Felix Auger-Aliassime of Canada met Friday evening for the 10th time in their head-to-head series. It’s one that has previously favored Zverev (6-3), but Auger-Aliassimme won their most recent meeting at the US Open and arrived in Turin after recently winning an indoor title in Brussels and reaching the finals at the Rolex Paris Masters.

The two-time ATP Finals champion Zverev looked to reach his fifth year-end semifinals and to join Carlos Alcaraz, Jannik Sinner and Alex de Minaur, who had already qualified. Meanwhile Auger-Aliassime aimed to garner his 11th tour-level semifinal of the season and to become the first man to reach eight hard-court semifinals this season. To do so, Auger-Aliassime would need to win this winner-take-all match to advance out of the Bjorn Borg Group as the second-place finisher and into the last four.

With plenty riding on the outcome for both players, Auger-Aliassime proved the steadier competitor and beat Zverev, 6-4, 7-6 (4), in two hours and seven minutes to advance to the semifinal round in Turin against the World No. 1 Alcaraz.

“This is a high-value tournament for players,” Auger-Aliassime said during his on-court interview. “It’s like a grand finale and when you have a look at the list of champs there have been many No. 1s. You want to be in the final but I’ll have to go through a great player to do that. I will take my chance if I have it.”

On serve through the first nine games of the opening set, Auger-Aliassime gained a triple break point against Zverev. The German No. 1 held off the first break point after Auger-Aliassime quashed a 14-shot rally. Next, Zverev fired an ace out wide to erase the second one. Then, the Canadian No. 1 gifted Zverev a deuce after netting the 10th shot of another tense rally. However, Auger-Aliassime finally converted his fourth break-point opportunity of the game with a solid forehand winner to win the 51-minute opening set 6-4.

“It was a great first set. He was getting a few chances but I came up with big serves to save them,” Auger-Aliassime said. “The first set was very solid and the start of the second set was, too. I had a lot of chances.

“When that happens you need to focus on the present but you’re aware of missed opportunities, so the match got a little tense from that moment. But I was able to hold serve and in the tie-break it was tight till the end.”

Next, Auger-Aliassime had multiple chances to break in the fourth and sixth games of the second set but each time was stifled by Zverev, who finally held to win the 14-point, 10-minute-plus sixth game to stay on serve at 3-all. Suddenly, it had turned into a mental battle and the mounting tension was palpable throughout Inapli Arena. However, Auger-Aliassime kept his composure down the stretch when it mattered most. He held serve for 5-4 with his 10th ace, then followed it with another strong hold that gave him a 6-5 advantage. Soon, Auger-Aliassime moved to within two points of victory, ahead 15-30, but  Zverev leveled matters with his ninth ace and held serve to force a second-set tie-break. 

In the tiebreaker, Auger-Aliassime took a 5-4 lead and gained a mini-break at 6-4 after Zverev’s forehand broke down, netting a seventh-shot return. Then, Auger-Aliassime put the match away on his first match-point opportunity after Zverev sent a forehand past the baseline. Suddenly, it put an ending to what morphed into a dramatic – albeit winding – 75-minute second set. Auger-Aliassime found himself the winner – his 50th triumph of the year – and looked delighted that his season would last at least another day.

While there was plenty of joy and relief – and a big smile, too – on Auger-Aliassime’s face at the end, not so much for Zverev, whose season ended with a 55-25 win-loss record.

Auger-aliassime finished the victory against Zverev with 24 winners – including 11 aces – and made 27 unforced errors. He won 74 percent (39 of 53) of his first-serve points, saved all four break points he faced and converted one of seven break-point chances against his opponent. Auger-Aliassime outpointed Zverev 79-72. By comparison, Zverev hit 25 winners – nine of them aces – but committed 28 unforced errors.

Auger-Aliassime, who has moved up to a career-best World No. 5 in the PIF ATP Live Rankings by going 2-1 in Turin, will face Alcaraz during the Saturday evening session, while Sinner will face de Minaur during the afternoon session.

Sinner tames Shelton in tune-up for de Minaur semifinal 

Earlier Friday, with the pressure of winning the group stage removed and the chase for ATP Year-End No. 1 decided in favor of Carlos Alcaraz, defending champion Jannik Sinner aimed to extend his 28-match winning streak on indoor hard courts and seven-match winning streak in Turin. By the end of the afternoon, all was well in Sinner’s orbit and there were a new set of impressive numbers to add to his ledger.

The 24-year-old Italian, who hadn’t dropped a set at this event since losing to Novak Djokovic in the 2023 final, defeated winless World No. 5 Ben Shelton of the United States, 6-3, 7-6 (3), in one hour and 34 minutes to finish the group stage 3-0. Sinner extended his head-to-head advantage over the American No. 1 to 8-1. He’s now won 29 straight matches on indoor hard courts – the fifth-longest winning streak on indoor hard courts – as well as eight straight in Turin. Plus, he has run his consecutive sets won streak to 16.

After already achieving wins over No. 8 Felix Auger-Aliassime of Canada and No. 3 Alexander Zverev of Germany to stand atop the Bjorn Borg Group, Sinner used his match with Shelton to tune-up for his semifinal Saturday afternoon against No. 7 Alex de Minaur of Australia. By the conclusion, Sinner had won 38 of 60 games during the group stage.

“When you come here and win all three round-robin matches, you have to play at a very high level, which I’ve done,” Sinner said during his on-court interview. “Serving very well in important moments has brought me to this point. It was a very special day playing in front of the home crowd, and against Ben it’s always a tough challenge.”

Sinner compiled impressive numbers against Shelton. He struck 27 winners – including 11 aces – and made just 14 unforced errors. He won 81 percent (38 of 47) of his first-serve points, saved the only break point he faced and converted two of four break-point chances. Sinner outpointed his opponent 69-60. Meanwhile, Shelton hit 22 winners – 11 of them from his forehand side – and committed 14 unforced errors. 

“When he comes up with a huge serve, you cannot do a lot, so you have to accept it,” Sinner admitted, after Shelton finished with six aces. “My mental aspect [has been] great until now, so let’s see what’s coming.”

While Shelton ended his debut week in Turin 0-3 and finished his 2025 season 40-24, Sinner improved his win-loss record to 56-6, including 37-3 on hard-courts surfaces.

“Tennis is full of highs and lows,” Shelton said during his post-match news conference. “This will just make me work harder in the off-season, make me even more excited for the 2026 season. But, yeah, it stings for sure.”

Next, Sinner (3-0) will take a 12-0 career head-to-head advantage against de Minaur (1-2) when they meet in their semifinal match.

“I’m very happy for him,” Sinner said of de Minaur, who defeated Taylor Fritz of the United States on Thursday in straight sets after losing Italy’s Lorenzo Musetti in a dramatic three-setter earlier this week. “When you have these kinds of losses, it’s tough. So props to him to come back with an incredible performance against Taylor. I have to be very careful, because he doesn’t have a lot to lose. … I have a lot to lose.”

Around Inalpi Arenau

• Carlos Alcaraz received his 2025 ATP Year-End No. 1 presented by PIF trophy during an on-court ceremony Friday afternoon. It marked the second time that the 22-year-old Spaniard has accomplished the feat following his 2022 achievement. ATP Chairman Andrea Gaudenzi and Head of Corporate Brand and Strategic Advisory at PIF Mohamed Alsayyad presented Alcaraz with the trophy.

The World No. 1 Alcaraz, who has compiled a 70-8 win-loss record this season, clinched the ATP Year-End No. 1 honor after defeating Lorenzo Musetti of Italy Thursday to finish group stage play 3-0.

“It is a pleasure for me [being] the No. 1,” Alcaraz said during the ceremony. “Being the No. 1 of the world is something that I’m working really hard for with my team every day. It is a goal. But I think it is a journey that you’re not going through alone. It’s with your whole team, with your family, with your close people behind you always supporting you in the tough and good moments, which I’m really, really proud about: having such a great team.”

• During a pre-match ceremony before the start of the evening session singles match, ATP Chairman Andrea Gaudenzi honored eight retiring ATP Tour players: Diego Schwartzman of Argentina, Robert Farah of Colombia, Aisam-Ul-Haq Qureshi of Pakistan, Albert Ramos-Vinolas of Spain, Kyle Edmund of Great Britain, Juan Sebastian Cabal of Colombia, and Wesley Koolhof and Matwe Middelkoop of the Netherlands.

• In doubles, with a semifinal berth up for grabs, Australian Open champions Harri Heliovaara of Finland and Henry Patten of Great Britain defeated last year’s ATP Finals finalists Marcelo Arevalo of El Salvador and Mate Pavic of Croatia, 7-6 (5), 6-2, in one hour and 25 minutes.

The Finn/British duo combined to hit seven aces and won 77 percent (37 of 48) of their first-serve points. They saved all seven break points they faced and converted two of eight break points. Heliovaara and Patten outscored Arevalo and Pavic 62-59.

It was Heliovaara’s 200th win of his career, while Patten joined four other British doubles players in the ATP Finals semifinals. 

By advancing second from the John McEnroe Group, Heliovaara and Patten will face all-Italian duo Simone Bolelli and Andrea Vavassori, who went 2-1 to win the Peter Fleming Group, in the semifinal round Saturday. 

• In the other doubles match, Great Britain’s Joe Salisbury and Neal Skupski, who had already qualified by winning the John McEnroe Group, defeated winless Christian Harrison and Evan King of the United States, 7-5, 6-3, in 72 minutes. The winners faced no break points and broke Harrison and King twice in three tries. They outpointed their opponents 59-47 in finishing group play as the only undefeated team. Salisbury extended his personal winning streak at the ATP Finals to 13 straight matches, which includes winning two ATP Finals titles with Rajeev Ram of the United States in 2022 and 2023.

On Saturday, in an all-British semifinal, Salisbury and Skupski will play Julian Cash and Lloyd Glasspool, who were second in Peter Fleming Group.

Friday’s ATP Finals results

Saturday’s ATP Finals order of play

By the numbers

Jannik Sinner of Italy has 56 tour-level wins this season, which ties him for third place behind Carlos Alcaraz of Spain (70) and Alex de Minaur of Australia (56).

“Quotable …”

“Winning Grand Slams is always a goal. End the year as No. 1, obviously, it’s always a goal as well. 

“Securing end the year as No. 1 here, for example in this match, the tournament is not over. You have to play a semifinal. The tournament keeps going.

“It’s kind of different because always it’s great, you can celebrate it with my team, with my close people that are here. But right after, you got to still focus on recovery, on going as soon to bed as you can, just to be ready for the semifinal.

“Comparing to winning a Grand Slam, the tournament is over, you can relax, you can do whatever you want after you achieve one of the best things you can achieve in our sport. That is [winning] a Grand Slam.

“I would say it’s a kind of a different feeling.”

– World No. 1 Carlos Alcaraz of Spain, during his post-match news conference Thursday, comparing the different feelings associated with winning a Grand Slam and finish ATP Year-End No. 1.

 

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