Title holder, Jannik Sinner started his Turin Masters without incident, beating a physically weakened Felix Auger-Aliassime in two rounds.
The day started badly for Jannik Sinner, with the confirmation of the (provisional?) loss of his world No. 1 place, but it ended much better. Winner of the ATP Masters in Turin last year for his third participation (final in 2023, group stage in 2021 as a substitute), the 24-year-old Italian started his Masters Tournament perfectly at home by beating Felix Auger-Aliassime.
Ten days after beating the Canadian in the final of the Rolex Paris Masters (6-4, 7-6), Sinner did it again against the Canadian, who has only been assured of his qualification for the tournament since Saturday.
The world No. 2 won 7-5, 6-1 in 1h40 against No. 8, whom he beat for the fourth time in less than three months, while he had lost their first three confrontations.
Sinner breaks away from 5-5
Jannik Sinner, who delivered a solid match without being exceptional, took advantage of the physical difficulties of his opponent, who held on well until 5-5 in the first set, before starting to hold his left calf. Felix Auger-Aliassime returned to the locker room to be treated at the end of the first set, then twice requested the intervention of the physiotherapist in the second, but that was not enough. At the start of the match, both players easily won their faceoff, up to 4-4.
It was then that “FAA” had to defend its first two break points. They saved them, but at 4-5, it was a set point that he had to defend. Sinner then sent a return into the net (5-4). But at 6-5 in his favor, after missing his second set point with a forehand into the net, the Italian took advantage of a failed drop shot from his opponent to pocket the set.
Will Auger-Aliassime be able to play on Wednesday?
The long break requested by the Canadian did not help his situation. On the contrary, since he conceded the first three games of the round, Sinner breaking with a forehand in his opponent’s lane. Auger-Aliassime saved two balls from 4-0 and stopped the bleeding (3-1), but he once again lost his serve at 4-1.
It remained for the world No. 2 to conclude this match, and he did it with an ace. This is a smooth start to the tournament! For his second Masters (he was eliminated in the pools in 2022), the Canadian must bow. If he was unable to play his second match on Wednesday, he would be replaced by Alexander Bublik.
Björn Borg Group
1- Jannik Sinner: 1 victory – 0 defeat, 2 sets won, 0 sets lost, 13 games won, 6 games lost
2- Alexander Zverev: 1 victory – 0 defeat, 2 sets won, 0 sets lost, 13 games won, 9 games lost
3- Ben Shelton: 0 victory – 1 defeat, 0 sets won, 2 sets lost, 9 games won, 13 games lost
4- Felix Auger-Aliassime: 0 victory – 1 defeat, 0 sets won, 2 sets lost, 6 games won, 13 games lost
