Eighth seed Felix Auger-Aliassime produced a 6-4, 7-6(4) win over two-time champion Alexander Zverev, his 50th win of the season, in a high-pressure contest to reach the Nitto ATP Finals last four in his second appearance on Friday evening.
Assessing the contest, he outlined: “It was a solid first set, start of the second set was good too, but then I didn’t take my chances. The match got tense from that moment. But I was still able to hold serve, and I played two solid points to finish it off in the tiebreak.
“This tournament is very high value to the players, it’s the grand finale, when you see the list of champions, it’s pretty much world No. 1s. I want to be in the final, but I’m going to have to go through a great player.”
Tomorrow, he will meet world number one Carlos Alcaraz, who finished first in the Jimmy Connors Group, for a spot in the championship match.
Earlier, defending champion Jannik Sinner will face Alex de Minaur, who is making his debut at the venue.
The Match as It Happened
Both players made a sharp start to a tight opener, moving up nearly flawlessly behind their service at the Inalpi Arena.
In the fifth game of the first set, they rallied, producing high-quality shot-making with Zverev bringing up the first break point of the match, which the Canadian eventually fended off on his way to holding his ground, leading 3-2.
Then, the German player held to love, even the scoreline at three all.
From there, the set went with serves, featuring intense baseline exchanges, with the finest of margins separating the players.
The third seed added pressure, earning his second break point opportunity in the match as Auger-Aliassime misfired a volley long.
However, once again, the eighth seed escaped danger with an ace, coming back from 30-40 down, rushing ahead at 5-4.
The opportunities the world No. 3 failed to capitalize on would cost him high, while his adversary held his nerve, showing precision and patience.
The Montreal native remained on the course, racing to earn three break-point opportunities in a crucial 10th game.
Then, his rival fought back from 0-40 to deuce, but when he missed a volley, he created enough breathing room for the Rolex Paris Masters runner-up to convert the break in his fourth attempt with a cross-court winner, closing out 6-4 in 51 minutes.
Frederic Fontang’s pupil hit 20 winners to 9 unforced errors against 12 and 10 from Zverev’s side of the net.
Without dropping a point on serve in the early stages of the second set, the world No. 8 picked up where he left off, excited to push forward.
Battling for the last spot available in his eighth appearance at the year-ending event, the 28-year-old raised his level, but a double fault in the fourth game opened the door to conversation.
Against the wall, he found a way to save two break points, holding with a volley and smash, 2-2.
Lacking aggression, the moments came and went as Zverev continued to struggle, giving signs of frustration after the 25-year-old fended off the break points he faced with an ace down the T.
At this point, they were on the doorstep of a dramatic, 15-minute game, the longest of the match.
The former world No. 6 opened the court up, hitting the ball cleanly off both wings, pushing the 24-ATP titlist to the edge. But after missing a break, the Australian Open finalist recovered to stay alive in the match, all even at 3-3.
Auger-Aliassime, who won three titles this season, held his advantage for the remainder of the set, unleashing his powerful forehand in lengthy exchanges, forcing Zverev to serve for a tiebreak.
The Munich champion displayed some of his best tennis to take the game, heading to a pivotal second-set tiebreak.
Nonetheless, the US Open semifinalist, at the forefront for most of the two-hour, seven-minute matchup, wrapped up proceedings 7-6(4), securing the last place in the ATP Finals last four.
He joins top seed Alcaraz, world No. 2 Sinner, and world No. 7 De Minaur, who also qualified for the semifinals.
Moreover, he became the first Canadian player to reach singles semifinals since compatriot Milos Raonic (2016), finishing second in the Bjorn Borg Group.
Throughout his campaign on Italian soil, he fell to Sinner in his opener before clinching a comeback victory against Ben Shelton on Wednesday.