It was a rematch of last week’s Paris Masters final, pitted against two of the most lethal indoor hardcourt players on tour. Again we learn that there are varying degrees of lethality.
Jannik Sinner He extended his indoor hard court winning streak to 27 games with a 7-5, 6-1 win over eighth-ranked Felix Auger-Aliassime on Monday night in Turin.
“Up until 6-5, it was a very tough game,” Sinner said. “He played some very aggressive tennis, so I’m happy to be able to overcome the tough test today.”
If Sinner can make it through the group stage unscathed, he will tie Roger Federer for the fifth-longest indoor hard-court winning streak in ATP history.
Sinner is the defending ATP Finals champion, improving to 4-0 against the Canadians in 2025 and 4-2 overall against the Montrealers.
It was a tight race, at least for a while…
Later in the first set, the physical confrontation began to intensify. Sinner successfully seized the opportunity and broke serve after falling behind 0-30 in the 12th game, winning the first set 7-5 in 58 minutes.
Auger-Aliassime was seen grabbing his left calf, a left knee he has struggled with recently, between points late in the set.
Sinner dominated the first set on her serve, winning all 21 first-serve points and scoring 24 of the 27 points in the set.
As the second set began, worst fears became reality. It’s clear that the factors holding Auger-Aliassime back haven’t gone away. Overwhelmed by worry, he tried to play fast-break tennis to no avail, and Sinner quickly broke serve to make it 2-0 when a high-risk Auger-Aliassime forehand flew out of the net.
After Sinner took a 7-5 lead, Auger-Aliassime, 3-0, met with doctors on the court and had the injury evaluated.
“I couldn’t push the ball,” he said, referring to the upward thrust of his serve, as doctors worked on his left calf and initiated a medical timeout.
Auger-Aliassime fought hard, but the double break came quickly. Auger-Aliassime volleyed into the net and Sinner led 5-1 in the second set.
The Italian started from there, finishing with an ace in one hour and 40 minutes to end his season with 54 wins and only six losses.
“I hope it’s not too serious,” Sinner said of Auger-Aliassime. “I wish him a speedy recovery.”
Sinner hit 16 winners and made 13 unforced errors, while Auger-Aliassime hit 17 winners and made 33 unforced errors. Sinner won 32 of 36 first-serve points, never faced a break point and needed only three aces.
Sinner moved to the top of Bjorn Borg’s ATP Finals standings, ahead of Alexander Zverev on the strength of his game.
