Jannik Sinner extended his unbeaten indoor hard court streak to 28 matches with a straight-sets win over Alexander Zverev.
Published November 13, 2025
On Wednesday, defending champion Jannik Sinner advanced to the semifinals of the ATP Finals with a 6-4, 6-3 victory over two-time champion Alexander Zverev, while Ben Shelton lost earlier in the same group to Felix Auger-Aliassime.
Italy’s Sinner extended his winning streak on indoor hard courts to 28 matches, but the victory over his German rival was not as comfortable as the scoreline suggested, with the world No. 2 under pressure from the beginning of both sets.
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“It was a very competitive game, very close,” Sinner said. “I felt like my serve went really well in the important moments. I tried to play the best tennis possible when it mattered, and luckily it worked out.”
The pair are the only two previous ATP Finals winners at this year’s tournament in Italy, both with wins in the opening round of the Bjorn Borg Group.
Zverev fails to capitalize on break chances
On Wednesday, Sinner faced seven break points to Zverev’s four, but he hit an ace and a fun drop shot in crucial moments.
Sinner got off to a slow start, facing two break points in the early stages, but made four aces at key points after nine minutes to hold the match. He missed two break points with a 5-4 lead before racing to the net to outscore Zverev and take the first set.
Sinner rallied from 0-40 to hold the first service game of the second set, and Zverev forced another break point on the Italian’s next service game, but the champion’s composure never wavered as he broke for a 4-2 lead and scored the deciding point with a slice drop shot.
Zverev fought back in the next game to take a 30-40 lead, but Sinner held firm. At one stage, the German shook his head in disbelief as he was whipped by a backhand down the line and, despite suffering his third loss in 17 days against Sinner, the Turin crowd rose to its feet and applauded the Italian.
Sinner needs to remain undefeated to retain his title to have a chance of finishing the year as world number one, while Carlos Alcaraz needs to win one more match to remain at the top of the rankings.
Alcaraz, who has two wins from two races, will face Lorenzo Musetti on Thursday, while Taylor Fritz and Alex de Minaur will face off in the other Jimmy Connors Group match, the second match of the tournament.
Auger-Aliassime wins for the first time
Canada’s Auger-Aliassime, who lost his first match against Sinner, came back from a set down to defeat Shelton 4-6, 7-6 (7), 7-5, leaving the American without a win after losing to Zverev.
Shelton stormed through the first set, but Auger-Aliassime grabbed a tiebreak win in the second set and converted his third match point with a break of serve in the final set.
The American lost his cool after failing to serve out in the first set and swung his racquet in frustration as Auger-Aliassime made it 5-4, but Shelton broke again.
In the second set tiebreaker, Auger-Aliassime took a 3-0 lead despite Shelton falling and hurting his knee. Shelton managed to save three set points before a double fault ended his valiant effort.
The Canadian held a break point at 2-1 in the final set, but had to wait until the final game after Shelton was charged with giving away a match point, which Auger-Aliassime did not refuse.
Auger-Aliassime will face Zverev on Friday for a place in the semi-finals.
