Felix Auger-Aliassime showcased his trademark brilliance and mental strength at the Nitto ATP Finals on Wednesday, kicking off a thrilling comeback victory over Ben Shelton.
The 25-year-old came within two points of defeat in a tense second-set tie-break, but he rallied with guts to seal a 4-6, 7-6(7), 7-5 victory after two hours and 25 minutes in Turin. Although Shelton’s relentless serve-and-volley pressure provided constant challenges, Auger-Aliassime remained calm to earn his 20th decisive set victory of the season.
Return?@felixtennis flips the script on Shelton to become the second man to reach 40 hardcourt wins this season!#NittoATPFinals pic.twitter.com/UY0IizKaCO
— ATP tour (@atptour) November 12, 2025
“He played much better than me at the beginning,” Auger-Aliassime said. “It’s not often that I get broken twice indoors in the first set… It was a strange start, but as the match went on, I found ways to bring returns on the court. Once we got into the rallies, I felt like I could win more. You just have to fight, believe in it and play the next point the right way.”
With the victory, Auger-Aliassime keeps its hopes intact of reaching the semi-finals of the prestigious season finale for the first time. After falling to defending champion Jannik Sinner in his opener, he is now 1-1 in the Bjorn Borg Group and will face third seed Alexander Zverev in his final round-robin match on Friday.
There were concerns about Auger-Aliassime’s physical condition after he suffered an injury in his defeat to Sinner, but he silenced those doubts as he moved freely against Shelton. In fact, it was the American who crashed in the second set tiebreak, hitting a costly double fault on set point to provide Auger-Aliassime with a route back in.
“Physically I felt great. We recovered well and did the right things,” Auger-Aliassime said. “Today I was able to play two and a half hours of high-intensity tennis. I have to give him credit, he kept coming up with great serves. When the opponent plays so well, you have to give him credit, but also credit to myself for staying calm.”
Auger-Aliassime, the No. 8 player in the PIF ATP Rankings, has been a proven threat on indoor hard courts over the years, posting a record 84 wins under these conditions this decade, according to the Infosys ATP Win/Loss Index. Once he evened the score against Shelton, he found his feet on serve and ultimately found a way to improve to 2-0 in their Lexus ATP Head2Head series.
Shelton will have to rue missed opportunities as he falls to 0-2 in the Bjorn Borg Group on his debut in the season finale. He lost five consecutive points from 6/3 in the second set tiebreak against Zverev in his first match and at the same time made a series of crucial unforced errors against Auger-Aliassime.
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