Canadian tennis star Félix Auger-Aliassime advanced to the semi-finals of the ATP Finals for the first time in his career on Friday with a 6-4, 7-6 (4) victory over German Alexander Zverev.
The 25-year-old from Montreal improved to 2-1 in round-robin play and finished second in the Bjorn Borg Group. On Saturday he will face world number 1 Carlos Alcaraz of Spain in the semi-finals of the elite season-ending event.
Auger-Aliassime, seeded eighth in Turin, claimed the only break of the match in the final game of the first set.
Zverev failed to convert any of his four break point chances and made 18 of his 27 unforced errors in the second set, during which he repeatedly gestured at his team in frustration.
In the tiebreak he sent an easy return into the net and gave Auger-Aliassime two match points. The Canadian only needed one, as Zverev hit a forehand long.
“It was a great first set. He had a few chances, but I came up with big serves to save them,” said Auger-Aliassime, who moved up three places to No. 5 in the ATP Live Rankings. “The first set was very solid and so was the start of the second set. I had a lot of chances.
“When that happens you have to concentrate on the present, but you are aware of missed opportunities, so the match got a bit tense from then on. But I was able to hold serve and in the tiebreak it was exciting until the end.”
Auger-Aliassime improved to 4-6 against Zverev. He won both meetings this year, including a third-round victory at the US Open.
Zverev, a two-time ATP Finals champion, fell to 1-and-2 and failed to break out of the group along with American Ben Shelton (0-3).
Defending champion and world number 2 Jannik Sinner of Italy swept his matches to top the group and will face number 7 Alex de Minaur of Australia in the other semi-final. Sinner defeated Shelton 6-3, 7-6 (3) in Friday’s other match.
Auger-Aliassime is 3-4 against Alcaraz, with the Spanish star winning their last four meetings.
“This is a tournament with high value for players,” Auger-Aliassime said when asked about the clash with Alcaraz. “It’s like a grand final and if you look at the list of champions there have been a lot of number 1s. You want to be in the final but for that I need a great player. I will take my chance when I get it.”
Alcaraz topped the Jimmy Connors pack after winning his matches and ensuring he would end the season with the No. 1 ranking on the ATP Tour.
Auger-Aliassime makes his second appearance at the ATP Finals. In 2022, he upset Spanish legend Rafael Nadal but lost his other two matches and failed to progress from his group.
He appeared to be struggling early in this tournament after a furious late-season charge to qualify for the event. He appeared to injure his leg in a 7-5, 6-1 opening defeat to Sinner.
However, Auger-Aliassime quickly recovered and came back from a set down to beat Shelton 4-6, 7-6 (7), 7-5 and put herself in a position to advance.
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