Felix Auger-Aliassime defeated Ben Shelton to get off the mark in ATP Finals
He will next face Alexander Zverev in the Bjorn Borg Group
Auger-Aliassime had lost his opening match to Jannik Sinner
Felix Auger-Aliassime kept his hopes of reaching the final four of the ATP Finals alive after coming from a set down to beat Ben Shelton.
Auger-Aliassime, who lost his opening match to Jannik Sinner while appearing to struggle with an injury, looked back to his best here as he claimed a 4-6 7-6 (9-7) 7-5 triumph.
Shelton started strongly and broke Auger-Aliassime early in the opening set, as the American reeled off three consecutive games to lead 4-1.
And though Auger-Aliassime got the better of Shelton's serve late on, the fifth seed repeated the trick in the following game to take the early advantage in Turin.
The pair continued to trade blows throughout the second, with Shelton passing up the only break point in the eighth game and a tie-break required.
And it was Auger-Aliassime who ensured the encounter would go the distance, with Shelton producing his second double fault with a wild second serve to the left baseline.
Neither player buckled easily under the pressure. Auger-Aliassime did squander two break points in the fifth game, but the Canadian got himself over the line.
At the third time of asking, Auger-Aliassime sealed his win when Shelton sent a backhand long, with his final game in the Bjorn Borg Group coming against Alexander Zverev.
Data Debrief: Auger-Aliassime delivers on favoured surface
There were concerns over Auger-Aliassime's fitness after his injury scare against Sinner, but he delivered a sensational display on Wednesday to claim just his second ATP Finals win, three years on from beating Rafael Nadal at the round-robin stage.
Indeed, Auger-Aliassime has now claimed 40 hard-court wins at ATP-level during 2025, becoming only the second player to achieve the feat after Alex de Minaur (42).
It was also his sixth ATP top-10 win this year, with his last coming against Lorenzo Musetti in Shanghai.
Among players born in 2000 or later, only Sinner (55) and Carlos Alcaraz (49) have claimed more such victories than Auger-Aliassime.
