SF Preview: Sinner takes on De Minaur, Alcaraz and Auger-Aliassime at Nitto ATP Finals | ATP Tour

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SF Preview: Sinner takes on De Minaur, Alcaraz and Auger-Aliassime at Nitto ATP Finals

Knockout rounds begin in Turin

November 15, 2025

After the dramatic round-robin phase of the Nitto ATP Finals, the knockout phase will begin in Turin on Saturday with the semi-finals.

Carlos Alcaraz went 3-0 in the group stage to capture the year-end ATP No. 1 ranking awarded by PIF, but he needs two more wins to cap off the best season of his career. His next obstacle will be Felix Auger-Aliassime, who defeated Alexander Zverev in the group finals in a win-or-go-home situation.

Jannik Sinner needs Alcaraz to suffer a setback in Turin to have any chance of ending the year ranked No. 1, but his Nitto ATP Finals title defense remains firmly within his grasp. The Italian home favorite will face Alex De Minaur in the semi-finals after winning 3-0 in the group stage.

In the doubles, top seeds Julian Cash and Lloyd Glasspool will take on Neil Skupski and Joe Salisbury in an all-British match, while Italians Simone Borrelli and Andrea Vavassori will take on Harry Heliovara and Henry Patten.

[2] Jannik Sinner(ITA) vs. [7] Alex De Minaur (Australia)
While Sinner sealed a spot in the semifinals with his second victory, De Minaur faced a tense wait Thursday after beating Taylor Fritz 7-6(3), 6-3. Alcaraz’s late win over Musetti finally allowed the Australian to advance. If Musetti wins, he will advance.

De Minaur’s win – and Alcaraz’s subsequent favor – was the perfect tonic after the seventh seed’s humiliating defeat to Musetti two days earlier. The Australians led 5-3 in the finals but lost to home favorites in the final four games, dropping to 0-2 this week. His win against Fritz was his first in two Turin starts, following his debut last year.

“I’ve been through some heartbreak lately, so it’s nice to finally get a win in Turin,” De Minaur said after notching his first top-10 win of the season outside of the team event. “I work really hard so it’s nice to get some positive feedback or a positive reward for hard work, so I’m really happy with the performance.”

Even Sinner said he was happy for the Australian, who ended the group stage with a 6-3, 7-6(3) victory over Ben Shelton on Friday. “When you have a loss like this, it’s tough. So props to him to come back with an unbelievable performance against Taylor,” the Italian said. “I have to be very careful [in our match]because he has nothing to lose…I have a lot to lose. “

While both players advance to the semi-finals with a win, Sinner can find extra motivation in his renewed pursuit of world number one. The Italian spoke of his excitement at “catching up” with Alcaraz after the Spaniard knocked him off the top of the PIF ATP Rankings after beating him in the US Open final. Eight weeks later, Sinner regained the top spot—even though his tenure only lasted a week.

The 24-year-old may no longer be No. 1 in the world, but he put in a performance like this in Turin. For the second consecutive year, he advanced through the group stage without dropping a set. The defending champion has now won eight consecutive matches and 16 consecutive sets in Turin, winning the 2024 title without losing a set.

“When you come in here and win all three round-robin games, you have to play at a really high level, and I’ve done that,” Sinner said. “Great serving in the big moments got me to this point.” The home favorite saved all eight break points against him in the match, including seven against Zverev and one against Shelton.

De Minaur broke serve twice in every match of the group stage, including in the opening match against Alcaraz. Next, he would try to earn his first Lexus ATP Head2Head win by defeating Sinner in the pair’s 13th match.

Their first meeting was at the 2019 Next Generation ATP Finals hosted by PIF. The pair will now meet at the Nitto ATP Finals for the second consecutive year, following three previous meetings this season, including the Australian Open quarter-finals.

Carlos Alcaraz, Felix Auger-Aliassime” src=” style=”width: 100%;”>

[1] Carlos Alcaraz(ESP) vs. [8] Felix Auger-Aliassime (Canada)
With the world No. 1 ranking completed this week in Turin, Alcaraz can now focus all his attention on his quest for a first Nitto ATP Finals title. By reaching the semi-finals, the Spaniard equaled his best record in Turin since his debut in 2023, although he had a 2-1 record in the group stages that year.

While Alcaraz had already clinched a knockout spot ahead of Thursday’s 6-4, 6-1 victory over Musetti, that match brought with it a huge amount of pressure: If the top seed loses, he will face Sinner in the semifinals, putting his position at the top of the PIF ATP Rankings at risk.

“Honestly, it means the world to me. Number one at the end of the year is always a goal,” said Alcaraz, who admitted to feeling nervous heading into the high-stakes tournament.

After the drama of the round robin and all the intricacies of the ATP year-end No. 1 battle presented by PIF Honors, the task before Alcaraz is now simple: win two knockout matches to win his ninth Tour-level title of the year. His previous single-season high was six in 2023.

The Spaniard will be looking for a fifth consecutive Lexus ATP win against Auger-Aliassime to earn his first Turin finals spot. After losing his first three matches in 2021-22, Alcaraz won all nine sets he faced against the Canadian in 2023 (one match) and 2024 (three matches). Their matchup on Saturday will be their first meeting of the season.

Auger-Aliassime takes on Zverev on Friday in what amounts to a virtual quarterfinal. This is the Canadian’s second appearance in the Nitto ATP Finals, and he advanced to the semifinals for the first time with a score of 6-4, 7-6(4), his 50th win of the season, according to the Infosys ATP Win/Loss Index. After losing his first three sets of the week – two against Sinner and the first against Ben Shelton – the 25-year-old extended his stay in Turin by winning four consecutive sets.

“This is a high-value match for the players,” said Auger-Aliassime, who has moved up to fifth in the PIF ATP live rankings with two wins. Three years after reaching a career-high ranking of sixth in November 2022, the Canadian will reach the top five for the first time if he can match or surpass de Minaur’s finish in Turin.

He may move up to fourth with the title, but his full attention on Saturday will be on destroying the trophy hopes of world number one Alcaraz.

“[The Nitto ATP Finals] Just like a finale, if you look at the list of champions, there are many people in first place. You want to get to the finals, but I have to go through a great player to do that. If I have a chance, I’ll take it. “

doubles action
Cash and Glasspool, the first all-British pair to win the PIF year-end ATP doubles No. 1 ranking, secured their spot in the semifinals with a 6-3, 7-5 win over Marcel Granollers and Horacio Zeballos in a winner-take-all showdown on Thursday. The win also ensures that the finalists will be all-British: they will meet compatriots Salisbury and Skupski, winners of John McEnroe’s division and former PIF ATP Doubles No. 1, for a spot in the trophy round. Both pairs are looking for the perfect ending to their first full season as a team.

The other semi-final will pit home favorites Borelli and Valvasoli against Heliovara and Patten, who advanced with a 7-6(5), 6-2 win in a must-win match against Marcelo Arevalo and Matt Pavic on Friday. Both teams are competing in the Nitto ATP Finals for the second consecutive year, with Heliovaara and Patten reaching the semi-finals last season.