The Rolex Paris Masters, the last of the season’s nine 1000-level events, has reached a fitting climax in its new home at the La Defense Arena, as Jannik Sinner takes on Felix Auger Aliassime, following their respective successful passage through the semi-finals.
We played a good game in New York. I think it was good tennis, but he still got the best of me. Very satisfied Auger
The Canadian was the first to reach the title round when he saw off Alexander Bublik to beat the Kazakh 7-6(3) 6-4. With that victory he climbed to 8th place in the Race to Turin standings and was in with a chance of securing his second Masters title on Sunday.
“I’m so happy. A Masters 1000 final sounds so good. You don’t play those finals every week. Hopefully I can go all out and take the title,” said ninth-seeded Auger Aliassime about reaching the final two.
“I have deep confidence in my game. I know what I can do against the best players in the world, but I still have to perform. Today I did very well and I am happy with the result,” the ninth seed said after his 96th-minute victory.
The first set proved to be a master class of serving as neither player conceded their serve, let alone gave up a break point. It was only in second place that the first breakthrough came and it went in the direction of Bublic, but the Canadian immediately responded by breaking back, resulting in the Kazak, seeded thirteenth, smashing his racket in frustration.
However, Bublik regained his balance and took a 4–1 lead, but Auger Aliassime raised his level by stringing together five consecutive matches to advance to the final, where he waited for the news of his opponent.
Jannik Sinner is on the verge of restoring his No. 1 ranking in the world rankings
(Photo by Mathias Schulz/Newhouse Media/MB Media/Getty Images)
He was undoubtedly not surprised to hear that it was second seed Jannik Sinner who came through, but the 6-0 6-1 scoreline against third seed Alexander Zverev must have been.
Sinner had not dropped a set all week and his match against the German was expected to be an explosive affair, but unfortunately Zverev, the defending champion, could not rise to the occasion and capitulated after 62 minutes, looking absolutely exhausted.
“If you drop the physicality like he did, you can’t find full power on the serve,” Sinner noted after his quick win. “I’m happy to be in the final, but you don’t want to arrive like that. Playing against Sascha is always a special event and today he was clearly not 100 percent, we saw that.”
“He was struggling physically. He won an incredible match yesterday, two match points behind… Getting to the final in Vienna, coming here and getting to the semi-finals again, it’s an incredible achievement, but we all hope he gets better and gets fit for Turin.”
Sinner is now chasing his fifth title of the year, while Auger Aliassime is looking to take his fourth of the season and ninth of his career.
“We played a good match in New York. I think it was good tennis, but he still got the best of me,” Auger-Aliassime admitted, recalling the last time they met, in the semifinals of this year’s US Open.
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“He urges players to be tactically very disciplined and execute their play almost perfectly to win. You have to be ready to play your best tennis and not make cheap mistakes.”
But with the world No. 1 ranking also on the line as far as Sinner is concerned, the Italian will be a huge barrier to overcome.
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