🔗 Share this article

Preamble

The inherent challenges of round-robin tennis typically lead to at this point of the ATP World Tour Finals we’re often left puzzled, searching around for a mathematical tool and striving to determine the brain-busting qualification scenarios. However today's game between Zverev and Auger-Aliassime, thankfully, is straightforward. It’s a straight shootout: the winner sets up a final four matchup against Alcaraz at this season-ending event; the loser heads out.

Zverev is the favourite for this: the world No 3 is the player with greater achievements, has been the champion at this competition twice before and holds the advantage in their personal record six matches to three, having won both their previous matches on an enclosed hard court.

Yet … this type of playing field on which Auger-Aliassime has claimed the majority of his titles, he is full of confidence after his compelling comeback against Ben Shelton on Wednesday and he defeated Zverev in the US Championships third round in late summer. Furthermore, the playing speed is higher in Turin than at the US Open venue, which provides an additional advantage in the Canadian's favor.

If the German player is reserved, like he was against Sinner, and the Canadian presses the European player with his stinging serves and confident shots, it could well be the 25-year-old Canadian – the former prodigy who was once in line in front of the younger champions to replace the Big Three – who secures the questionable privilege of facing the global leader tomorrow.

Action commences: at about 8.30pm local time, 19:30 Greenwich Mean Time.