Defending champion Yannick Ciner booked his place in the semi-finals with a 6-4, 6-3 win over Alexander Zverev at the ATP Finals in Turin on Wednesday.
The result extended Sinner’s winning streak on indoor hard courts to 28 matches, dating back to when he lost to Novak Djokovic in the tournament’s final two years ago.
It was also Sinner’s fifth consecutive win over third-seeded Zverev, including this year’s Australian Open final and recent encounters in Vienna and Paris.
The Italian still has a chance to end the year by regaining the world number one ranking, but he will have to successfully defend his title and hope Carlos Alcaraz doesn’t win his next match.
Sinner leads the Bjorn Borg group with two wins from two races, while Zverev and Felix Auger-Aliassime follow with one win each and Ben Shelton without a win.
Alcaraz also won his opening two games and leads the Jimmy Connors Group.
Sinner saved two break points in the first game against Zverev (both with aces) and fought back from a 40-0 deficit to hold serve early in the second set, but otherwise had little trouble making it to the semifinals.
Auger-Aliassime’s come-from-behind victory keeps hopes of reaching the semi-finals alive
Auger-Aliassime battled back from a set down to defeat Shelton 4-6, 7-6 (9-7), 7-5 in the Bjorn Borg Group’s other match on Wednesday for his first win at this year’s ATP Finals.
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Highlights of Felix Auger-Aliassime vs. Ben Shelton at the ATP Finals.
With the win, Canada maintains its hopes of advancing to the semi-finals, and will next face Zverev in a shootout to qualify alongside Sinner on Friday.
Shelton will play the Italian in the final dead rubber after two wins and two losses for the fifth-seeded American.
Shelton dominated the first set against Auger-Aliassime, getting an early break, but had a terrible game, serving for the set and allowing his opponent a straight break back.
Shelton expressed his frustration by slamming his racket into the ground, but it flew out of his hand and into the audience. No one was hit, but he was given a rules violation for using abusive language before recovering to take the first set.
The second set went into a tiebreak on serve, with Shelton saving three set points before double faulting to tie Auger-Aliassime.
Shelton managed to avoid two break points early in the final set, but in the end Auger-Aliassime wore Shelton down, breaking him in the final game of the match and snatching the victory on his third match point.
“He was playing a lot better than me at first,” the eighth-seeded Canadian said of Shelton. “It’s rare to get broken twice in the first set indoors.
“It was a weird start, but as the game went on we found ways to get some returns on the court.
“Once I got into the rally, I felt like I could win more. I just have to fight, believe and play the right way for the next point.”
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