Some tennis fans who have been around for decades might not like one-touch tennis much. There is no real beauty in the style, for sure. Bombastic serves and ferocious forehands are impressive, but not exactly the way players such as John McEnroe won.
Still, playing with full power makes for good money if you can do it. Plus, if a player does it well enough, they can end up in tournaments like the ATP Finals and make really good money. This is what Ben Shelton and Felix Auger-Aliassime are doing this week.
Is either going to win the event? Unlikely. While their power will push them past mere mortals, beating the immortals like Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner is a different story. Getting to the semifinals would be a victory for either the American or the Canadian, though.
Felix Auger-Aliassime defeats Ben Shelton at the ATP Finals
In their round-robin match at the 2025 ATP Finals, the second one for each, and both began the tournament with a loss in straight sets. Of course, Shelton's was to two-time ATP Finals winner Alexander Zverev, and Auger-Aliassime's was to Sinner. In other words, they were excusable losses.
And both Shelton and Auger-Aliassime were playing well against each other. The match was trending toward simply being which player would out-hit the other. The odd part was that Shelton took the first set without getting an ace. He did only have one double-fault, however. He also broke the Canadian twice to get off to a good start, 6-4.
In the second set, Auger-Aliassime served brilliantly, landing 85 percent of his first serves and getting four aces. Neither player could get a break, however, and in the tie-break, Shelton landed on his left knee. He shrugged it off initially, but double-faulted on the final point of the tie-break to allow Auger-Aliassime to take it 9-7 and force a third set.
The difference in the match was that Shelton had more dips in form, and the third set proved that better consistency is important. Felix Auger-Aliassime was brilliant throughout the match with his serve, and in the final set, he won 91 percent of his first serve points, and he didn't double-fault.
Meanwhile, Shelton kept fighting off break points until the final game, when he couldn't. He overhit his forehand too many times, giving the Canadian some free points. But Auger-Aliassime deserved the victory and took the third set 7-5. He is still alive to make the final four at the ATP Finals, while Shelton is almost certainly out.