Felix Auger-Aliassime and Alexander Bublik will face each other for the sixth time in their careers on Saturday in the semi-finals of the Rolex Paris Masters.
Auger-Aliassime leads the head-to-head series 3-2, having recently survived a 7-6(7), 6-7(4), 6-3 thriller at the ATP 500 in Dubai earlier this season. They have split two previous indoor hard court encounters; Auger-Aliassime scored 6-2, 6-3 at the 2023 Basel event before Bublik prevailed 4-6, 6-4, 6-4 in the Montpellier semi-final last year.
There should be another fun one in the cards for La Defense Arena as both boys are in great form. How good was their level during the 2025 campaign? Well, Auger-Aliassime is one win away from reaching the qualifying position for the Nitto ATP Finals. Although Bublik cannot qualify, the Kazakh is in good form as an alternate for Turin.
Auger-Aliassime in particular was on fire. The 10th-ranked Canadian, a US Open semi-finalist, has remained red-hot with an indoor title in Brussels and quarter-finals in Shanghai and Basel. He is now in the Paris semi-finals after ousting Francisco Comesana, Alexandre Muller, Daniel Altmaier and Valentin Vacherot.
Bublik started the autumn swing with his fourth title of the season in Hangzhou. The world number 16 cooled off briefly with immediate exits from Beijing (Adrian Mannarino) and Shanghai (Vacherot), but he has bounced back with wins in Paris over Alexei Popyrin, Corentin Moutet, Taylor Fritz and Alex de Minaur.
Besides Bublik playing, Auger-Aliassime is simply on another level in these indoor conditions. The No. 9 seed is ultimately aiming for his ninth ATP title and his eighth indoors. He needed just one hour and 18 minutes to obliterate Vacherot 6-2, 6-2 on Friday, while Bublik battled De Minaur for two hours and 22 minutes on his way to a 6-7(5), 6-4, 7-5 success.
Bublik played well against De Minaur, but the 28-year-old was almost undone at crucial moments by poor shot selection, especially with his beloved drop shot. Auger-Aliassime is the most solid player at the moment and should have a slight edge over the handful of points that will likely decide a competitive match heavy on winners and light on breaks of service.
Choice: Auger-Aliassime in 2
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