TURIN, Italy — Canada’s Felix Auger-Aliassime earned his first win at this year’s ATP Finals on Wednesday, coming from behind to beat American Ben Shelton 4-6, 7-6 (7), 7-5.
Both lost their first games in the men’s quarterfinals at the end of the season. But Auger-Aliassime successfully displayed his signature indoor talent to give the eighth seed a chance to reach the semifinals.
“He played much better than me from the beginning. It’s not often that I get broken twice in the first set indoors,” Auger-Aliassime said. “It’s been a weird start but as the game goes on I’m looking for ways to put the rewards on the pitch.
“Once we got in the rally, I felt like I could win more. You just have to fight, believe, and score the right way.”
Fifth-seeded Shelton will next face defending champion Jannik Sinner in Friday’s final round-robin match, while Felix Auger-Aliassime will face Alexander Zverev.
Sinner will face Zverev later on Wednesday.
Shelton dominated the first set and got an early break, but he had a terrible game on serve and Auger-Aliassime got the break.
Shelton, playing in his first ATP Finals, expressed his frustration by slamming his racket to the ground. It flew out of his hand and toward the audience. No one was hit, but he received a violation warning.
The American player broke serve immediately after recovery and won the first set.
Serving for the second set, Shelton successfully saved three set points in the tiebreak, but double faulted shortly after falling, allowing Auger-Aliassime to equalize.
The Canadian never looked back, and although Shelton managed to save two break points early in the decider, Auger-Aliassime broke him in the final game to seal the win on the third match point.
