Montreal’s Félix Auger-Aliassime claimed a crucial victory at the ATP Finals on Wednesday with a comeback 4-6, 7-6 (7), 7-5 over Ben Shelton of the United States.
The victory brought Auger-Aliassime’s record to 1-1 at the elite end-of-season men’s tennis tournament.
The 25-year-old Canadian came into the match after a 7-5, 6-1 loss to Italian Jannik Sinner. Auger-Aliassime played a competitive match against the defending champions before being slowed by an apparent leg injury.
He also struggled at times against Shelton and came within two points of defeat in the second set tiebreak.
But he rallied from a set down for the fourth time in his last eight matches to improve his career record against Shelton to 2-0.
“He played much better than me in the beginning. It’s not often that I get broken twice indoors in the first set,” Auger-Aliassime said. “It was a strange start, but as the match went on I found ways to bring efficiency onto the playing field.
“Once we got into the rallies, I felt like I could win more. You just have to fight, believe and play the next point the right way.”
Auger-Aliassime’s 20 wins in long-distance matches lead the ATP Tour.
He faces Alexander Zverev on Friday and will need a win over the German to have a chance of promotion to the semi-finals.
Shelton fell to 0-2 and does not advance from the group stage. He will play Sinner in his group stage final.
Sinner and Zverev were scheduled to play later Wednesday.
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.
Shelton dominated the first set and got an early break, but a terrible game from him when he was serving for the set allowed Auger-Aliassime to break back.
Shelton, playing in his first ATP Finals, showed his frustration by slamming his racket on the ground. It flew out of his hand and towards spectators. No one was hit, but he did receive a code violation warning.
The American recovered, broke back immediately and took the opening set.
The second set went on serve and Shelton managed to save three set points in the tiebreak, but a double fault – shortly after taking a tumble – left Auger-Aliassime level.
The Canadian never looked back and although Shelton fended off two break points early in the decider, Auger-Aliassime broke him in the final game, sealing victory on his third match point.
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