ATP Finals: Shelton vs. Auger-Aliassime & Sinner vs. Zverev | Previews, Picks, Where to Watch

Ben Shelton vs. Félix Auger-Aliassime

🤜 Head to Head: Auger-Aliassime leads 1-0 (first meeting in 2025)

The Preview: At the start of the year, the American and the Canadian probably believed that qualifying for Turin was a long shot. Shelton, 23, had never made it here before, and he started the year ranked 21st. Auger-Aliassime has been to the ATP Finals once, in 2022, and he began this season ranked 29th. But each had a run of good form—Shelton in the summer, FAA in the late-summer and fall—that brought them all the way into the Top 8.

Can either reclaim that form on Wednesday? Both lost their opening matches in straight sets—Auger Aliassime to Jannik Sinner, Shelton to Alexander Zverev. Maybe you can chalk that up to big-stage, first-night nerves, because both of these guys like hard courts, and both rely on their serves, which should be helped by the controlled indoor conditions.

Shelton hinted that it took him a little while to get comfortable.

“I got better as the match went on,” he said. “How solid I was off the backhand side is a positive. Started to figure out how to get in points on the return late in the match.”

Auger-Aliassime, before his match with Sinner, said the upside of facing the world No. 1 right out of the gate is that his confidence wouldn’t be shaken by a defeat.

“I start the tournament with the toughest challenge, which is interesting in a way because I think winning a match like this one would kind of give you confidence that you can go very far in this tournament,” he said. “If it doesn’t go your way, it doesn’t.”

Now that the test drives are over, the rubber meets the road for real for both guys in match two. The winner stays in semifinal contention; the loser, at 0-2, will be in desperation mode.

Shelton and Auger-Aliassime have played once, at Roland Garros last year, and the Canadian won in three not-very-competitive sets. They should be more evenly matched on an indoor hard court. Their serves will obviously be key, and the result may be decided by just a few points.

Shelton said he was happy with his backhand in his opener, and he’ll need it again on Wednesday. Auger-Aliassime loves the sliding serve into that side. From the ground, Auger-Aliassime is probably the more solid of the two, but Shelton’s forehand will be the biggest baseline weapon.

I’ll say Auger-Aliassime will be just a little more ready to play his best.

The Pick: Auger-Aliassime

Jannik Sinner vs. Alexander Zverev

🤜 Head to Head: Sinner leads 5-4 (3-0 in 2025)

• Sinner d. Zverev 6-3, 7-6 (4), 6-3—Australian Open final
• Sinner d. Zverev 3-6, 6-3, 7-5—Vienna final
• Sinner d. Zverev 6-0, 6-1—Paris Masters semifinal

The Preview: Zverev’s 2025 has, unfortunately for him, been defined by his matchup with Sinner. The German’s one-sided loss to the Italian in the Australian Open final back in January sent him into a tailspin that he never really reversed. Despite playing as many weeks as possible, he has just one title this year, and his Slam performances declined from one event to the next. By summer, he was talking about how alone he felt on court.

Over the last month, Zverev has had a couple of chances to exorcise the red-headed demon. He pushed Sinner to 7-5 in the third in the Vienna final, and then surrendered 6-0, 6-1 in the Paris semis, in a match where he was hampered by an ankle issue. Now he gets a third late-season crack at his nemesis. He also knows he’ll need his ankle, and everything else, to be fully healthy.

“Jannik is someone who exposes that 200 percent, right?” Zverev said after his opening-round win over Ben Shelton. “If you can’t move against him, you have no chance.”

Zverev says he’s physically ready. But is he ready to find a solution for his opponent’s turbo-charged baseline game, a way to turn the rallies in his favor? Sinner has won their last four matches dating back to 2023. Two have been blowouts, but the other two have been close.

The two close ones were played on hard courts. The problem is, they weren’t played on this hard court, in front of this audience. Sinner’s rise to No. 1 began when he beat Novak Djokovic in this arena in 2023, and he only got getter last year, when he went 5-0 to win the title. There’s no reason to think that streak stops with Zverev.

The Pick: Sinner

📅 Order of Play: Wednesday, Nov. 12

Krawietz/Puetz vs. BolelliVavassori
— 5:30 AM ET

Fritz vs. De Minaur
— 8:00 AM ET

Cash/Glasspool vs. Granollers/Zeballos
— 12:00 PM ET

Alcaraz vs. Musetti
— 2:30 PM ET

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