Auger-Aliassime’s Paris Performance: A Resilient Comeback & Aiming for Turin!
Canadian triumphs over Altmaier; Shelton and De Minaur clinch spots at the Nitto ATP Finals
October 30, 2025
Corinne Dubreuil/ATP Tour
Felix Auger-Aliassime triumphs over Daniel Altmaier at the Rolex Paris Masters.
By Andy West
If Felix Auger-Aliassime manages to secure a spot at the 2025 Nitto ATP Finals, his journey will undoubtedly be a challenging one.
Facing Daniel Altmaier in a crucial third-round match at the Rolex Paris Masters, the ninth-seeded Canadian turned the tables with a score of 3-6, 6-3, 6-2. This is the third consecutive match this week in Paris where Auger-Aliassime has come back after dropping the first set.
Into the quarter-finals! 🗣️ @felixtennis battles back from a set down to beat Altmaier 3-6 6-3 6-3! @RolexPMasters | #RolexParisMasters pic.twitter.com/HgT89brssC
— ATP Tour (@atptour) October 30, 2025
“It’s been a tough week with three sets every match,” Auger-Aliassime reflected. “I came in today ready for another challenge, reminding myself to stay composed, patient, and look for solutions. I know I have the answers within me; I just needed to make the right decisions and execute them effectively.”
“As the match progressed, my serve improved significantly. I struggled initially against his serve’s variation, but I eventually found ways to pressure him, breaking him three times thereafter.”
Although Auger-Aliassime showed signs of fatigue from his tough early matches against Francisco Comesana and Alexandre Muller, he remained unflustered. He executed a flawless game in the second and third sets, securing a quarter-final clash with Shanghai champion Valentin Vacherot.
With an impressive indoor victory count of 81 this decade, Auger-Aliassime inched closer to the eighth position held by Lorenzo Musetti in the PIF ATP Live Race to Turin. He stands to leap ahead of Musetti with a final appearance in Paris.
Catch Auger-Aliassime’s Impressive Backhand Late in the Altmaier Match:
Auger-Aliassime displayed aggression on serve throughout the match, finishing with an impressive 87% success rate (39/45) on his first serves, as per Infosys ATP Stats. He also dominated at the net, winning 20 of 25 points, a strategy that proved crucial on the slower Paris court.
For the sixth consecutive tournament, Auger-Aliassime finds himself in the quarter-finals, preparing for his first-ever meeting with Vacherot, who earlier vanquished Cameron Norrie 7-6(4), 6-4. The rising star from Monaco has astoundingly won his last 10 ATP Masters 1000 matches and has moved up 10 spots to No. 30 in the PIF ATP Live Rankings.
Just one spot remains open in the lineup for the Nitto ATP Finals, as Ben Shelton secured his debut alongside Alex de Minaur’s qualification for Turin.
Shelton overcame Andrey Rublev with a score of 7-6(6), 6-3 to reach the quarter-finals in Paris. A highlight of his impressive victory was a breathtaking forehand that clinched the opening set on Court 1. With a season record of 40-20, as per the Infosys ATP Win/Loss Index, Shelton is set to face either second seed Jannik Sinner or Francisco Cerundolo next.
Don’t Miss Shelton’s Set-point Thunderbolt in Paris:
De Minaur breezed past former Paris champ Karen Khachanov with a score of 6-2, 6-2, ensuring his place in Turin for a second consecutive year. Notably, this marks his 42nd hard-court victory of the season, qualifying him for his eighth Masters 1000 quarter-final.
Next up for De Minaur is a match against Alexander Bublik, who kept his own Nitto ATP Finals dreams alive with a victory over Taylor Fritz, triumphing 7-6(5), 6-2.
