Who will fill the final qualifying slot for Turin will be difficult to determine, especially after Felix Auger Aliassime stormed into the semi-finals of the Rolex Paris Masters with his 6-2 6-3 victory over Valentin Vacherot, where he will face Alexander Bublik who battled past Alex de Minaur in two hours and 22 minutes to reach the last four 6-7(5) 6-3 7-5.
Should the Canadian manage to get past the Kazak, Auger Aliassime will replace Lorenzo Musetti in eighth place to participate in the draw for the ATP Finals in Turin, which starts on November 9.
The Italian has no choice but to play in the ATP 250 event in Athens next week, in a bid to regain the ground he lost to his rivals after his second-round loss in Paris. It means that the final qualifier for Turin remains unresolved for up to a week.
Daniil Medvedev’s hopes of a possible qualification were dashed by Alexnader Zverev, who rallied to keep his title defense hopes alive.
The German came through 2-6 6-3 7-6(5) to finally end his five-match losing streak against the Russian after two hours and 30 minutes, during which he saved two match points.
“What I am most happy about is the saved match points, the way I stayed brave and won the match at the important moments,” Zverev said in his on-court interview.
“I felt like I played well in the beginning, but tactically I played very stupidly,” Zverev said in describing the opening set. “I felt my shots, I felt like I could turn the game around because I felt really good with my shots, but again, I played very, very stupidly. I changed a few things in my tactics and broke back. He helped me with a break [at 1-0 in the second set].”
With two match points on serve at 4-5 in the decider, Zverev kept his cool even when faced with a nervous sit above his head which he put away. He would miss a similar shot at 5-3 later in the tiebreak.
“Daniil is a bit of my kryptonite, I don’t like playing with him,” Zverev admitted with a laugh. “He is someone who has had my number for a few years. I am certainly very happy with the victory. We played a fantastic match against Jannik last Sunday. I am happy to be on court with him again. Hopefully we will share another great match.”
Last Sunday, Sinner defeated Zverev over three sets to take the Vienna trophy in a final lasting almost two and a half hours. A similarly close match would be welcome, but for now the Italian, who could become world number 1 on Sunday, is racing through the field, this time needing 68 minutes to beat Ben Shelton 6-3 6-3.
“It was a very tough match. Against Ben sometimes you don’t have much control because of his incredible serve, but today I felt like I came back really well,” Sinner said. “Also from the back of the field I played very solid and also very aggressive, so I am very happy with today’s match.”
With his win on Friday, Sinner became the first Italian to reach 43 semi-finals at tour level, breaking his tie with Fabio Fogninin and Adriano Panatta. He is also the first Italian to reach the semi-finals of the Paris Masters.
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