Key events
Earlier in this group: Alexander Zverev beat Ben Shelton 3 and 6.
Anyroad up, out come our players…
Nor is classical all he does:
It’s almost time, classical music pumping – but not this, from one of Turin’s favourite sons.
I was at the Albert Hall for this – I had free tickets to use and couldn’t find anything I wanted to see, so a mate recommended Einaudi and it blew my mind.
Laura Robson notes that the court is very fast which, on the face of things, favours Sinner, but if Auger-Aliassime does want to shorten points, it might help him. He sounds more confident these days and, at 25, he ought to be nearing his peak.
How can Auger-Aliassime win tonight? Er, I’m not sure. He’ll want to shorten the points, keep Sinner moving, attack the second serve and perhaps lay some drops, given sinner is less effective at net that from the back. I also wonder if he’ll try slicing backhand to backhand, though that’s his weaker flank; it’s not easy to find weaknesses in Sinner’s armoury, but touch shots are closer to such thing than power ones.
Earlier this evening, Harri Heliovaara and Henry Patten beat Christian Harrison and Evan King 4 and4, playing beautifully in the process. They won in Paris last week and look to be back to their best after a tough second-half of the year.
Turin’s Palasport Olimpico will be absolutely bouncing tonight, and almost everyone in it will be supporting Jannik Sinner, the localish hero. He comes from Innichen, 350 miles away on the border with Austria, and is probably Italy’s current premier sportsman. I can’t wait to see how Auger-Aliassime handles the atmosphere.
Preamble
Evening all and welcome to the ATP Finals 2025 – day two!
On the face of things, this match can only go one way: Jannik Sinner is way too good for everyone save Carlos Alcaraz, the group matches and semi-finals necessary for competitive integrity but necessarily leading us to the latest chapter in what is already one of the great sporting rivalries.
Before losing the US Open final, Sinner was 27-0 playing hard court grand slam matches while, on indoor hards, he has won 26 matches in a row, undefeated since the 2023 Davis Cup. Good luck to the rest of the field.
Felix Auger-Aliassime, though, has more of a chance than most. His indoor record this year is 15-3, taking in tournament wins in Montpellier and Brussels and, just last week, he pushed Sinner in the Paris Masters final, losing 4-6 (4)6-7. If he’s at it tonight, you never know – and even if he isn’t, watching an all-time great underlining his status can never be less than compelling.
Play: 8.30pm local, 7.30pm GMT
