The Nitto ATP Finals presents a different drama, with the round-robin format adding a layer of intrigue to the battles among the ATP Tour’s elite. That drama continues on Wednesday in Turin with the second singles matches for the competitors from the Bjorn Borg Group.
Jannik Sinner and Alexander Zverev will battle for top spot in the group, with both heading into their evening match at 1-0, while Ben Shelton and Felix Auger-Aliassime will look to avoid falling bottom of the table at 0-2.
In doubles, the winner of the match, which pits Joe Salisbury and Neal Skupski against Harri Heliovaara and Henry Patten, will lead the John McEnroe Group 2-0. Americans Christian Harrison and Evan King will face Marcelo Arevalo and Mate Pavic in a 0-1 match.
[2] Jannik Sinner (ITA) against… [3] Alexander Zverev (DE)
While Carlos Alcaraz’s comeback victory against Taylor Fritz took the Spaniard to the brink of the ATP year-end number 1 presented by PIF awards, Sinner can put the pressure back on his rival with a third victory against Zverev in 17 days. To reward Alcaraz for that distinction, Sinner must win the Nitto ATP Finals title as an undefeated champion and hope Alcaraz doesn’t pick up another victory this week.
The Italian has a 5-4 Lexus ATP Head2Head lead against Zverev, with wins this season in the Australian Open final and more recently in the Vienna final and Paris semi-final. Their first two meetings of 2025 were closely contested affairs, most notably the Vienna final, a 3-6, 6-3, 7-5 win for Sinner. While Zverev struggled with an ankle injury during a one-sided defeat in Paris, the German was sharp in a 6-3, 7-6(6) opening win in Turin against Shelton, saving two set points from 4/6 in the second set tiebreak.
“Playing against Sascha is always a special occasion,” Sinner said after their match in Paris, noting the unfortunate nature of his victory against a compromised opponent.
Zverev was fit and fired up against Shelton, winning 84 percent of his first serve points and not giving the American a chance for a break point, according to Infosys ATP Stats. But Sinner managed to outperform the German serving statistics: in a 7-5, 6-1 result against Auger-Aliassime, the home favorite won 89 percent of his first serve points, also taking victory without having to face a break point.
“He’s tough to beat anywhere, especially here,” Auger-Aliassime said of Sinner after their opener. “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.”
The last time Zverev defeated Sinner was at the 2023 US Open, a five-set war of attrition full of long, painful rallies. While both players are happy to bide their time from the baseline, the faster conditions in Turin could lead to action earlier in the rallies.
That victory at the US Open was Zverev’s fourth consecutive victory in the rivalry. The Italian has since turned the tables with four straight victories and will now hope to make the most of home advantage at the Inalpi Arena.
[5] Ben Shelton (USA) vs… [8] Felix Auger-Aliassime (CAN)
Although neither Shelton nor Auger-Aliassime claimed a set or forced a break point in their opening match in Turin, both players can take some positives into their second match. Shelton stayed true to his aggressive play against Zverev and almost forced a deciding set, while against world No. 1 Sinner, Auger-Aliassime played close until he began to struggle with a left calf problem at 5-6 in the opening set.
The Canadian said his injury was “not dangerous” and that he was “not too concerned” about the issue, but instead gave the Italian full credit for withdrawing from the match. After struggling in the return against Sinner, Auger-Aliassime faces another tough test against the electric lefty serve and the ruthless power of Shelton.
“He’s an incredibly aggressive player. Probably one of the most aggressive in the world,” Zverev said of the American after their opening match. “When the point is on his serve, he always has it under control.”
But after facing world number 1 Sinner, Auger-Aliassime will have no fear in what is very close to a must-win match against Shelton. At 0-2 the chances of advancing to the knockout rounds are slim.
‘I’ve never been there [afraid] because we are not going to go to war,” Auger-Aliassime said when asked about his mental approach after facing Sinner. ‘I do think that it is a battle, a tennis battle. I’m very focused, very driven.
“[I’ve] never been afraid of a tennis match. [You’re] When you play at this level you are more focused and everything has to be very disciplined and very precise from the first moments.”
For both Auger-Aliassime and Shelton, it all starts with the serve. Statistics from Tennis IQ, powered by PIF, indicate that the serve is the standout shot for both players, with Shelton having a Serve Quality score of 8.64 out of 10, and Auger-Aliassime at 8.47. Those numbers, from the 2025 ATP Tour season, put Shelton 11th and Auger-Aliassime 14th in the rankings.
Double action
While Heliovaara and Patten’s bid for the Year-End ATP Doubles No. 1, presented by PIF Honors, fell short – Britain’s Julian Cash and Lloyd Glasspool took the distinction with their victory on Tuesday – the Finnish-British duo are still on course for the title in Turin. After an opening 6-4, 6-4 win against Harrison and King, the second seeds meet Britain’s Salisbury and Skupski with top spot in the John McEnroe Group at stake.
Skupski and Salisbury, looking for their first title of 2025, defeated Arevalo and Pavic 6-3, 7-5 on Monday. Arevalo/Pavic and Harrison/King meet in the evening session as both try to bounce back from early defeats.
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