Canadian Felix Auger-Aliassime set up a semi-final with world number one Carlos Alcaraz by beating Germany’s Alexander Zverev in the final group match of the ATP Finals.
Neither player was at their best in what was a must-win match, sharing 55 unforced errors, but two-time champion Zverev was left to regret failing to convert any of his four break points as Auger-Aliassime kept his cool to win 6-4 7-6 (7-4) and secure second place in group Bjorn Borg behind Jannik Sinner.
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The Italian, the defending champion, beat already eliminated Ben Shelton 6-3, 7-6 (7-3) earlier Friday to maintain his 100% record and extend his winning streak to 13 matches.
For Auger-Aliassime, this is his 19th victory in 24 hard-court matches in 2025, including titles in Brussels and Montpellier, but the eighth seed knows he has his work cut out against Alcaraz, whom he has not beaten since 2022.
“It’s the grand final and when you see the list of champions, it’s only the world number ones,” Auger-Aliassime said.
“You want to be in the final. I’m going to have to go through a great player but I’ll take my chance if I get him.”
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There was a sense of déjà vu for an increasingly frustrated Zverev, who wasted seven break points in his straight-set loss to Sinner on Wednesday.
And after being almost impenetrable on serve, losing only three points in his first four games, a series of errors in the 10th game – including a missed routine volley at two – handed Auger-Aliassime the first set.
In a messy second set, four straight games ended in deuces and Zverev served twice to stay in the match before Auger-Aliassime finally broke the German’s resistance in the tiebreak, with Zverev producing a tired forehand error on match point.
Sinner wary of De Minaur upset despite clinical form
Jannik Sinner aims for his sixth title in 2025 (Getty Images)
Italian Sinner warned that Alex de Minaur “doesn’t have much to lose” in the semi-final.
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Sinner advanced to the final four without dropping a set or a service game, demonstrating his clinical touch against Shelton by converting two of his three break chances in the first set and sealing the tiebreak victory with his second match point.
Efficient on serve throughout the match, he stopped Shelton’s only break point – he has now saved all eight he faced in Turin – and gave up only seven points in six service games in the second set.
The 24-year-old, who is aiming for a third straight appearance in the season-ending final, is 12-0 against seventh-seeded De Minaur but does not want to underestimate the Australian, who upset Taylor Fritz to clinch second place in the Jimmy Connors group.
“I’m very happy for (De Minaur),” Sinner said. “Thanks to him for coming back with that performance (against Fritz). It’s one of the best matches I’ve seen him play.
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“I have to be very careful, he doesn’t have much to lose. It’s going to be very difficult.”
In the doubles, 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 most from a single nation since 1992.
Already qualified British duo Joe Salisbury and Neal Skupski maintained their 100% record with a 7-5 6-3 victory over Christian Harrison and Evan King and will face fellow Brits and end-of-year number ones Julian Cash and Lloyd Glasspool in the last four.
