Auger-Aliassime Revives Turin Aspirations with Paris Victory; Fonseca Shines Again
Vacherot Prepares for Family Rivalry with Rinderknech at the ATP Masters 1000
October 28, 2025
Corinne Dubreuil/ATP Tour
Felix Auger-Aliassime boasts a 44-21 record this season, as reported by the Infosys ATP Win/Loss Index.
By Sam Jacot
Felix Auger-Aliassime kept his hopes for qualification to the Nitto ATP Finals alive with a determined victory at the Rolex Paris Masters on Tuesday. After dropping the first set, he rallied to defeat Argentine qualifier Francisco Comesana with a score of 6-7(2), 6-3, 6-3.
Fresh off his ATP 250 title win in Brussels just nine days ago, Auger-Aliassime faced a setback when he had to retire in the quarter-finals at Basel last week. However, his first-round victory in Paris places him just 440 points behind Lorenzo Musetti, currently in eighth place in the PIF ATP Live Race To Turin, with Musetti set to compete against Lorenzo Sonego on Wednesday.
Ranked ninth in the Live Race To Turin, Auger-Aliassime aims for another deep run in Paris to secure his spot in the Nitto ATP Finals, having previously competed in Turin in 2022, where he exited in the round-robin stage.
In a gritty showdown against Comesana, Auger-Aliassime impressively did not lose a single point on his first serve during the second set, according to Infosys ATP Stats, showcasing his power and precision to take the win after two hours and 20 minutes—their first-ever battle on the Lexus ATP Head2Head circuit. Currently, Auger-Aliassime holds a season record of 44-21.
Looking ahead, he will face French player Alexandre Muller next. Notably, Auger-Aliassime reached the semi-finals in the French capital back in 2022.
In other news, Joao Fonseca celebrated his second ATP Tour title on Sunday at the ATP 500 event in Basel. On Tuesday, the Brazilian continued his momentum with a comeback win against Denis Shapovalov, pulling through with a score of 5-7, 6-4, 6-3 in his debut at the Paris tournament.
Fonseca, who recently became the third-youngest ATP 500 champion since 2009, faced off against the Canadian again and demonstrated his superior game.
“In tennis, you need to adapt your mindset every week,” Fonseca remarked. “I just won two days ago and now I’m here competing in Paris. I’m thrilled to have switched my mindset and prepared for this match. Even though I lost the first set, I made necessary adjustments—it all worked out well mentally. I faced some hip discomfort initially, but it’s nothing we can’t manage for the next round.”
At just 19 years old and currently ranked a career-high No. 28 in the PIF ATP Rankings, Fonseca showcased his powerful shots from both sides and overcame a physical issue in the third set, during which he took a medical timeout, improving his record to 2-0 against Shapovalov in their Lexus ATP Head2Head battles.
Fonseca will next clash with 10th seed Karen Khachanov. Notably, he is the first Brazilian player to win a match at the Paris Masters 1000 event since Tomaz Bellucci in 2015.
Meanwhile, Shanghai champion Valentin Vacherot dispatched Jiri Lehecka 6-1, 6-3, setting the stage for a family showdown with cousin Arthur Rinderknech. Earlier this month, Vacherot triumphed over Rinderknech in three sets at Shanghai, thereby becoming the lowest-ranked ATP Masters 1000 champion in history (since 1990).
