Jannik Sinner finished 2024 strong and was the year-end No. 1 for the first time in his career. He might get to that ranking again, and potentially even this year, but it will be a challenge. Sinner has to win all five of his matches at the ATP Finals, and he has to hope that Carlos Alcaraz loses in the round-robin stage and then some.
On the second day of the year-end tournament, Sinner played Felix Auger-Aliassime, and Sinner was playing well, though mostly matched by the Canadian. Sinner held at 5-all in the first set, and as Auger-Aliassime served to try to get back to even, he had seemingly hurt his calf. He played on, but he was obviously not fully healthy.
Defeating Sinner on an indoor hardcourt is nearly impossible for any player, but for Auger-Aliassime, there was little hope of doing so while slightly limping. In the second set, Sinner got an early break and took a 3-0 lead before the Canadian called for the physio, taking a medical timeout.
Jannik Sinner defeats Felix Auger-Aliassime in round-robin stage of 2025 ATP Finals
The Italian, playing in front of his home nation crowd in Turin, went on to win 7-5 6-1. He will play again on Wednesday, while Alcaraz will take on Taylor Fritz on Tuesday. Should Alcaraz win each of his three round-robin events, he will cement his year-end No. 1 ranking.
Should Alcaraz lose one of the group stage matches, he will need to simply reach the final (meaning winning his semifinal match) to stay atop the ATP rankings. The Spaniard has finished the year once in 2022. He missed the ATP Finals in 2024, while Sinner went through the tournament undefeated.
As for Felix Auger-Aliassime, even to keep playing against Jannik Sinner was a victory. He lost the match, but probably earned even more respect from tennis fans. Not being 100 percent against one of the obvious two best players in the world would have caused many to simply retire. Auger-Aliassime at least tried, even without much hope of winning.
It will be interesting to see if he plays his next match at the ATP Finals. If he needs to withdraw, Alexander Bublik would take his place. That would undoubtedly make for some fun tennis, though Auger-Aliassime has earned his right to be in Turin.