Jannik Sinner electrified home fans in Turin on Monday with a decisive 7-5, 6-1 victory over Felix Auger-Aliassime to launch his ATP Finals title defense. The Italian star, currently ranked No.2 globally, strengthened his bid to claim the year-end No.1 spot — a feat achievable if he wins the tournament and rival Carlos Alcaraz fails to reach the final.
Auger-Aliassime, visibly hampered by a left calf injury requiring two medical timeouts during the second set, struggled to counter Sinner's precision. The 2023 ATP Finals champion has now defeated the Canadian in all four of their 2025 encounters, including high-stakes matches at the U.S. Open semifinals and Paris Masters final.
With this win, Sinner and Alexander Zverev lead the Bjorn Borg group standings after Zverev's Sunday triumph over Ben Shelton. The tournament's round-robin format will see the top two players from each group advance to semifinals.
In other action, Taylor Fritz capitalized on Novak Djokovic's last-minute withdrawal due to a shoulder injury, defeating replacement Lorenzo Musetti 6-3, 6-4. Fritz now shares the Jimmy Connors group lead with Alcaraz, while Musetti and Alex de Minaur trail with opening losses.
