Felix Auger-Aliassime’s return to the Nitto ATP Finals did not go as planned on Monday evening as the Canadian battled a calf problem during his 7-5, 6-1 loss to home favorite Jannik Sinner in Turin.
After an encouraging start against the in-form Italian, Auger-Aliassime appeared to pull his left calf late in the first set as he landed at 5-6 after serving. Although he continued to compete, the injury clearly affected his freedom of movement, but the No. 8 player in the PIF ATP rankings later played down any concerns about his physical condition.
“No, not dangerous. I’m not too worried about it. He’s a great player. You have to give credit when the guy is just better than you,” Auger-Aliassime said. “Today he was better than me. I’m going to get ready for the next one.”
Auger-Aliassime, who appears in the season finale for the first time since 2022, had matched Sinner for much of the opening set, but the Italian started to turn the tide with him. According to Infosys ATP Stats, he won 100 percent (21/21) of the points behind his first throw in the first set.
“He’s hard to beat anywhere, especially here,” said Auger-Aliassime, who now trails Sinner 2-4 in their Lexus ATP Head2Head series. “He started off great [and] never really looked back. From the first to the last point he was great. The hardest man to beat here.”
Still, the Canadian insisted he remains mentally strong despite the physical setback and defeat, and maintains a balanced perspective on the nature of the competition in the elite eight-man event.
‘I’ve never been there [afraid] because we are not going to go to war,” Auger-Aliassime said when asked about his mental approach to the confrontation with Sinner. “I do think about it being a battle, a tennis battle. I’m very focused, very driven.
“[I’ve] never been afraid of a tennis match. [You’re] When you are more focused at this level, everything has to be very disciplined and very precise from the first moments.”
Monday’s meeting marked the fourth meeting between Auger-Aliassime and Sinner since August – a period in which the Italian has asserted his dominance over their growing rivalry. Just eight days before their match in Turin, they faced each other in the final of the Rolex Paris Masters, where Sinner also triumphed, but in two tight sets.
“I’ve played against him a few times this year, so I knew what to expect,” Auger-Aliassime added. “It’s more that if you play at this top level, you have to be extremely good. That’s all.”
Although the loss was a tough opening blow to his season in Turin, Auger-Aliassime hopes the calf issue will be resolved quickly as he looks to regroup for his remaining round-robin matches, which will come against Ben Shelton on Wednesday and Alexander Zverev on Friday.
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