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Off we go again; fair play to Felix, he’s doing his best to give the crowd a game.
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Auger-Aliassime takes a medical timeout and has his calf massaged. He looks extremely unhappy and must be thinking about turning it in; a less significant tournament and he might’ve done already. And even if he sticks in the match till the end, will be ready to play again on Wednesday? The first alternate is Sascha Bublik, who’s actually beaten Sinner this year; he might be stretching off, wherever he is.
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*Sinner 7-5 3-0 Auger-Aliassime I say all that, but Sinner, perhaps losing focus, dispenses a double of his own to donate 0-30; surely not. Yeah, not: a morose Auger-Aliassime can’t properly plant feet and apply power, wafting a backhand long, two big first serves make 40-30, and there’s a yowl of pain when he’s sent chasing a backhand. Somehow, though, he wins the point for deuce,the first time in the match he’s got that close to breaking, only to wince again skewing a backhand wide and plenty, before another, looped over the baseline, seals Sinner’s consolidation.
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Sinner 7-5 2-0 Auger-Aliassime* Auger-Aliassime is taking time between points now and he looks seriously disappointed. He’s lost his zip but he’s also lost his belief, I think and, caught at net, he’s easily passed for 15-30, then sends down a double, pace on the serve well down. If he’s broken here, that might be it – especially as he’d have a day to recover before his second match but, in the meantime, he swipes a forehand well wide, and I’m afraid this contest, so absorbing in set one, is over at the start of two. Auger-Aliassime asks the umpire to summon the physio for the end of the next game, but it’s hard to see what can be done in the immediate term.
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Updated at 21.56 CET
*Sinner 7-5 1-0 Auger-Aliassime It’s hard enough facing Sinner fully fit, never mind with an injury, and I fear Felix will struggle to recapture his first-set form. He looks in discomfort ceding a point for 40-0 and, though he does makes 40-15, a backhand return sliced into the foot of the net bespeaks a man who thinks his chance has gone. I’d not be surprised if he calls it, but will probably want a go at serving first.
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Back he comes, and he’s going to continue; let’s hope it was a twinge that can be run off.
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Auger-Aliassime leaves the court and we see footage of him rubbing his left calf. Hopefully he can get himself sorted, but he’ll be suffering irregardless: he played almost as well as he possibly can , still made no impression on the Sinner serve, and lost his own at the crucial moment.
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Jannik Sinner wins the first set against Felix Auger-Aliassime 7-5
Sinner 7-5 Auger-Aliassime* A service-winner out wide takes Auger-Aliassime to within three points of a breaker, and an ace follows, his eighth of the set with most of them, like this one, down the T. But an overhit backhand soon takes us to 30-all and a netted forehand donates set point; this escalated quickly. Sinner, though, surprisingly nets one of his own – he’s played the biggest tallies poorly – but Auger-Aliassime looks to have a calf issue and when a forehand pass catches him at net, he’s again in trouble, tamely netting once again to cede a set he worked so hard to stick in – and I fear he’s hurt himself in the process. Sport hurts.
Jannik Sinner of Italy plays a forehand against Felix Auger Aliassime of Canada. Photograph: Clive Brunskill/Getty ImagesShare
Updated at 21.55 CET
*Sinner 6-5 Auger-Aliassime Sinner will be irritated this set is still in progress – his usual consistency dipped briefly, and cost him. But the best sportsfolk have goldfish memory and he puts it away immediately, rushing through a love hold; he’s dropped just three points on serve all set.
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Sinner 5-5 Auger-Aliassime* Ach, a big first serve, then a clean-up forehand walloped fractionally but perceptibly wide; pressure. And when Auger-Alissime then nets, you fear for him. But a service winner halves his arrears then, offered a look at a second delivery, Sinner overhits; that’s a missed opportunity. But when a forehand is larruped way long, we move to deuce, Auger-Aliassime nets a backhand, all his hard and excellent work is in jeopardy, all the more so when he misses with his first serve. But the return goes into the net, a net cord leaps into the tramlines, and an ace down the T averts the danger. That’s a major escape for the Canadian, who made four unforced errors in that game; he’s a hold away from a tiebreaker.
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*Sinner 5-4 Auger-Aliassime Can Auger-Aliassime penetrate on the Sinner serve? It’s not easy if he keeps landing first deliveries, but when he doesn’t, he nets a volley for 30-15. From there, though, he closes out another hold, sealed with a service winner, and upping the pressure: a break in the next game would mean the set.
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Sinner 4-4 Auger-Aliassime* What Auger-Aliassime is doing really well is holding his position on the baseline and, when there’s an opportunity to attack, committing to it; he’s not simply trying his hardest while waiting to lose. But then Sinner coaxes a backhand winner down the line when it looks like he’s going cross; an ace restores parity at 15-all, a service winner makes 40-15, and big serve followed by a swing volley secures an impressive hold.
Félix Auger-Aliassime is holding his own in the first set. Photograph: Alessandro Di Marco/EPAShare
Updated at 21.28 CET
*Sinner 4-3 Auger-Aliassime So Auger-Aliassime survives his first major fright, the way he played the break points – aggressively but not recklessly – extremely impressive. Sinner, of course, responds with a love hold, but he knows he’s in a match and, if he can’t break, this set will be decided by the odd winner or error.
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Sinner 3-3 Auger-Aliassime* The arena sounds more like a football ground when Auger-Aliassime begins to serve; he responds with an ace. But a backhand hooked wide invites Sinner into the game at 30-15 … a service-winner follows, only for a netted forehand to make things close; pressure. And Sinner quickly makes deuce – my screen jumps so I don’t see how. But I do see a framed forehand flying off to who knows where; Auger-Aliassime responds superbly, mashing a forehand winner to restore deuce, the raising advantage then opening the court for a winner. Sinner, though, reads the direction, nails a forehand on the run, then an error donates him a second break point; again, Auger-Aliassime saves it well, serving out wide then crashing an overhead before earning a second advantage … only to see a backhand return backed up by a backhand winner pasted down the line; deuce. From there, though, the Canadian closes out a brilliant game, sealing an impressive hold; this is really enjoyable and engrossing.
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*Sinner 3-2 Auger-Aliassime Out of nothing, Auger-Aliassime ups the pace on the backhand, going corner to corner and making 0-15; he really fancies this. But a serve out wide, supported by a clean-up forehand, levels the game, a service-winner follows, and shortly afterwards, so does the game.
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Sinner 2-2 Auger-Aliassime* I say that, but it’s been a decent start from Auger-Aliassime, but up 15-0, he works Sinner wide only to overhit having opened the space to attack. Still, the tactic was right even if the execution wasn’t quite and, when Sinner goes long, he has 30-15, then again attacks the forehand from the middle of the baseline to raise two game points, taking the second. Often, these matches are close until they’re not, but so far this is an engrossing contest.
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*Sinner 2-1 Auger-Aliassime You get the sense Auger-Aliassime thinks he can do something here – of the nine titles he’s won, eight have come on indoor hard. But if he’s to win, it may have to be with breakers, because Sinner is currently serving like God, quickly making 30-0. But when he misses a first delivery, Auger-Aliassime returns well, goes forehand to forehand and elicits the error. For all the good it does him, two more swift points securing the hold.
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Sinner 1-1 Auger-Aliassime* Eeesh, Sinner gets an immediate look at a second serve, swipes a backhand return on to the line, then annihilates a winner down the line and into the corner. Auger-Aliassime, though, responds with an ace, then does enough with a volley for 30-15; as we thought, he wants to shorten points and get to net. And what a forehand he delivers from the back, dead centre of the baseline and leaping to land it just inside Sinner’s forehand corner, before an ace secures a impressive hold.
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*Sinner 1-0 Auger-Aliassime (*denotes server) Big serve, clean up at net; ace; colossal serve, swift forehand cross-court winner; netted return. Standard Sinner, and that’s 1-0 in almost minus time.
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Sinner to serve, ready … play.
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Earlier in this group: Alexander Zverev beat Ben Shelton 3 and 6.
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Anyroad up, out come our players…
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Nor is classical all he does:
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It’s almost time, classical music pumping – but not this, from one of Turin’s favourite sons.
I was at the Albert Hall for this – I had free tickets to use and couldn’t find anything I wanted to see, so a mate recommended Einaudi and it blew my mind.
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Laura Robson notes that the court is very fast which, on the face of things, favours Sinner, but if Auger-Aliassime does want to shorten points, it might help him. He sounds more confident these days and, at 25, he ought to be nearing his peak.
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How can Auger-Aliassime win tonight? Er, I’m not sure. He’ll want to shorten the points, keep Sinner moving, attack the second serve and perhaps lay some drops, given sinner is less effective at net that from the back. I also wonder if he’ll try slicing backhand to backhand, though that’s his weaker flank; it’s not easy to find weaknesses in Sinner’s armoury, but touch shots are closer to such thing than power ones.
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Earlier this evening, Harri Heliovaara and Henry Patten beat Christian Harrison and Evan King 4 and4, playing beautifully in the process. They won in Paris last week and look to be back to their best after a tough second-half of the year.
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Turin’s Palasport Olimpico will be absolutely bouncing tonight, and almost everyone in it will be supporting Jannik Sinner, the localish hero. He comes from Innichen, 350 miles away on the border with Austria, and is probably Italy’s current premier sportsman. I can’t wait to see how Auger-Aliassime handles the atmosphere.
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Preamble
Evening all and welcome to the ATP Finals 2025 – day two!
On the face of things, this match can only go one way: Jannik Sinner is way too good for everyone save Carlos Alcaraz, the group matches and semi-finals necessary for competitive integrity but necessarily leading us to the latest chapter in what is already one of the great sporting rivalries.
Before losing the US Open final, Sinner was 27-0 playing hard court grand slam matches while, on indoor hards, he has won 26 matches in a row, undefeated since the 2023 Davis Cup. Good luck to the rest of the field.
Felix Auger-Aliassime, though, has more of a chance than most. His indoor record this year is 15-3, taking in tournament wins in Montpellier and Brussels and, just last week, he pushed Sinner in the Paris Masters final, losing 4-6 (4)6-7. If he’s at it tonight, you never know – and even if he isn’t, watching an all-time great underlining his status can never be less than compelling.
Play: 8.30pm local, 7.30pm GMT
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