Sinner got off to a perfect start at the ATP Finals

Sinner struggled to overcome Auger-Aliassime in the final of the Paris Masters 8 days ago, but won easily in the rematch when his opponent had a problem with his left leg. Due to the impact of the injury, the Canadian player could only struggle with Sinner until the score was 6-5 in the first set, before quickly losing the rest of the match.

"The match was very difficult until the score 6-5 ", Sinner said. "He plays very aggressively, so I'm happy to overcome a difficult challenge today. Obviously, winning the first match is very important in this format. I hope his injury is not too serious ".

Sinner extended her winning streak on indoor hard courts to 27 matches. He has also not lost a set at the ATP Finals since losing in the 2023 final to Novak Djokovic.

The victory over Auger-Aliassime also helps Sinner raise hopes of surpassing Carlos Alcaraz to win the title of World No. 1 tennis player at the end of the year. Sinner is currently 1,050 points behind his opponent on the scoreboard in 2025 alone. With Alcaraz starting the tournament with a victory over Alex de Minaur on Sunday, November 9, Sinner needs to hope that his opponent does not win in the group stage and does not go beyond the semi-finals.

In the Sinner rematch, Auger-Aliassime stubbornly saved two break-points in game 6 and a set-point in game 10, but could not prevent Sinner from breaking the decisive serve in game 12, when he began to feel pain in his left leg after serving while leading 30-0.

Auger-Aliassime had to leave the court for medical attention after the first set. Despite playing bravely in his first return to the ATP Finals since 2022, the world No. 8 still could not recover after early losing the service game of the second set. He continued to receive treatment for his left calf when down 0-3, and again at 1-4.

As usual, Sinner remained very accurate throughout the match and kept focused, while Auger-Aliassime struggled on the other side of the net. The number 2 seeded player ended the match with 89% winning points on first serve. After two consecutive victories over Auger-Aliassime in November in Paris and then Turin, Sinner raised the head-to-head score between the two to 4-2.

"When facing an injured opponent, you still have to continue to play steadily and keep good balance on the field ", Sinner said after the match. "Especially mentally. It's important to use your advantage properly, even if you don't want the match to turn out like that. "