Jan 15, 2024; Melbourne, Victoria, Australia; Felix Auger Aliassime of Canada wins a point against Dominic Thiem (not pictured) of Austria in Round 1 of the Men's Singles on Day 2 of the Australian Open tennis at Rod Laver Arena.

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Felix Auger-Aliassime Keeps Semifinal Hopes Alive By Beating Ben Shelton in Nitto ATP Finals 2025 Thriller

Shelton’s Turin knockout hopes hang by a thread.

No. 8 seed Felix Auger-Aliassime kept his cool to produce an epic comeback against American southpaw Ben Shelton at the Nitto ATP Finals 2025 on Wednesday. The Canadian star-boy displayed his full array of groundstrokes to complete an entertaining 4-6 7-6(7) 7-5 victory in 2 hours and 25 minutes. Courtesy this important win, Auger-Aliassime has improved to 1-1 in the Bjorn Borg Group.

The 25-year-old was slow off the blocks, and got broken twice in the opener to lose 4-6. While Shelton applied constant pressure by suffocating FAA with his relentless serve and volley + attack-minded approach, the two-time US Open semifinalist used his prolific indoor hard court game to respond with aplomb. As the second set headed to a tiebreaker, Auger-Aliassime came within two points of tasting defeat.

When it mattered most, Auger-Aliassime outhit Shelton to force a decider. The 22-year-old World No. 5 was visibly showing signs of fatigue, forcing him to take pace off the ball with slices and high net clearances. Although his opponent had an injury scare in his opener against second seed Jannik Sinner, he moved freely en route to his tour-leading 20th deciding set victory in 2025.

Still in it to win it 😅

Auger-Aliassime comes back against Shelton to get his second career win at the #NittoATPFinals – after defeating Nadal back in 2022 pic.twitter.com/57yDbFhyw8
— Tennis TV (@TennisTV) November 12, 2025

‘He Was Playing Much Better’ – Felix Auger-Aliassime

It has been a terrific campaign for Felix Auger-Aliassime in the ongoing season. After picking up his sixth career title at the Adelaide International, he followed it up with another championship run at the Open Occitanie in February. In the Middle Eastern swing, FAA reached the semis in Doha and finished as the runner-up at the Dubai Duty Free Championships – losing in straight sets to Stefanos Tsitsipas.

40 – Felix Auger-Aliassime (40) is the second player after Alex de Minaur (42) to claim 40 wins on hard-court at ATP-level during 2025. Battle. #NittoATPFinals | @atptour @ATPMediaInfo pic.twitter.com/w7tK35dYfw
— OptaAce (@OptaAce) November 12, 2025

After a disappointing European clay court campaign, Auger-Aliassime returned to form by making the final four at two events on grass. Yet, it was the US Open which made people stand up and take notice of his performances on the big stage. Since then, he added a third trophy to his tally at the ATP-250 in Brussels, before making the final of the Paris Masters.

“He was playing much better than me at the start,” evaluated the Canadian after his win. The 25-year-old is just the second player after Alex de Minaur to earn 40 tour-level hard court wins this year. It also happened to be his second win against a left-hander at the ATP Finals, after his 6-3 6-4 victory over Rafael Nadal at the 2022 edition of the competition.

Felix Auger-Aliassime at the ATP Finals:

Against righties
❌ Ruud
❌ Fritz
❌ Sinner

Against lefties
✅ Nadal
✅ Shelton
— Bastien Fachan (@BastienFachan) November 12, 2025

“It’s not often that I get broken twice in the first set indoors… It was a weird start, but as the match went on I was finding ways to put returns in the court. Once we engaged in the rallies, I felt like I could win more. You just have to fight, believe and play the next point the right way.”

Auger-Aliassime will face No. 3 seed Alexander Zverev in his final round robin fixture on Thursday. The Canadian No. 1 defeated his German colleague at Flushing Meadows earlier this year.

(Image Credits: Mike Frey, Imagn Images)

Alexander Zverev

ATP

Ben Shelton

Felix Auger-Aliassime

Jannik Sinner

Nitto ATP Finals

Tennis

Sankalp Harikrishnan

A passionate sports fan through and through, I am currently pursuing my MA in Global Sports Journalism. I specialise in tennis and football writing at The Playoffs News, and I have prior experience working at EssentiallySports and Sportskeeda. Born and raised in Bengaluru, India, sport was my safe space right from my childhood. After trying my hand at multiple sports and representing my educational institutions in cricket, badminton and table tennis, I found sports media to be my calling.