Paris Masters Final showdown: can Auger-Aliassime topple Sinner’s indoor winning streak?
Sinner vs. Auger-Aliassime is arguably a final that opposes the two best indoor players on the men’s tennis tour. It’s the 2025 Rolex Paris Masters final (Sunday, 3:00 pm).
Auger-Aliassime – Sinner, US Open 2025 | © Chryslène Caillaud / Panoramic
Eying his Rolex Paris Masters final against Jannik Sinner on Sunday, Felix Auger-Aliassime mentioned “young Jannik” in his reply. The player he’s met and beaten twice in 2022, “before he was Jannik.” Understand: one of the New Two (with Carlos Alcaraz) able to win Grand Slam tournaments.
Can Felix Auger-Aliassime beat Jannik Sinner? Yes. Of course. He did it twice, at Madrid (6-1, 6-2) and in Cincinnati (2-6, 7-6(1), 6-1) in those almost forgotten times. But can he beat him today, as Sinner is leading an unbelievable series of 25 wins in a row indoors in two years? That’s what everybody wants to believe before the final (not before 3:00 pm CET), knowing that Sinner hasn’t lost a set this week despite tiredness from his winning final in Vienna last week.
Auger-Aliassime knows two things. One, that he can be outplayed like Zverev was in the semis (6-0, 6-1). In Cincinnati in August, he only scored one more game in the quarterfinal (6-0, 6-2). But also that he can challenge the Italian, as he did at the US Open semi-final this year (6-1, 3-6, 6-3, 6-4).
“At one point I saw him doubt,” Auger-Aliassime remembers. “And actually, at one point I nearly had a momentum shift where I could turn the match around in my favor. It was encouraging to see that. I was in charge for one hour, I would say. I hope I can do that more than one hour. These players are not unplayable. They are very strong, yes, sometimes they’re really unplayable. But there’s a way to upset them.”
Auger-Aliassime : “Be very disciplined tactically”
“Sinner, you can only admire what he’s done. He pushes players to be very, very disciplined tactically and to execute their game, you know, almost perfectly in order to win. You know, you have to be ready to play your best tennis and to not make cheap errors.” No secret behind the tactical battle: Auger-Aliassime will have to serve at his peak, return as he did against Bublik in the semis, engage in the forehand war and hold on with his backhand.
“There are some takeaways from this match that I’m not going to tell you, but he has improved a lot,” Sinner reacted. “He’s playing some very great aggressive tennis, especially here. Physically, he’s at a great point.” The match will also oppose the two best counterpunchers of the tournament, with 37% of the points stolen by FAA when he was attacked and 44% by Sinner.
This Rolex Paris Masters final is arguably opposing the two best indoor players in the world. Auger-Aliassime leads the ATP Tour in indoor wins this decade (81). His 2022 season, his best so far, was crowned by 31 indoor wins, highlighted by victories over No. 1 Alcaraz and former No. 1s Djokovic, Murray, and Nadal.
Since “young Jannik” was defeated by Huesler in the Rolex Paris Masters first round in 2022, the Italian has only been defeated by Medvedev at Rotterdam (2023) and Djokovic (2023) indoors. But if Felix can do it, it’s definitely now and there.
