A look at Felix Auger-Aliassime’s ATP Finals qualification hopes as he makes ‘not worried’ confession
Fresh from “spending the best two weeks of his life” after getting married to the love of his life, Felix Auger-Aliassime returned to tennis and secured a big win over one of his rivals for a qualifying spot at the ATP Finals.
Auger-Aliassime had “an amazing time” on and off the court the past few months as he reached the quarter-final of the Cincinnati Open and the semi-final of the US Open, resulting in a big rise up the ATP Rankings.
On a personal level, he then took time away from tennis to marry long-term girlfriend Nina Ghaibi in a fairytale wedding in Marrakesh, Morocco, on September 25.
Two weeks later and he is back in action at the Shanghai Masters and picking up where he left off at the US Open as he defeated eighth seed Lorenzo Musetti in the round of 16 at the ATP Masters 1000 event.
Having missed last week’s events in Beijing and Tokyo to spend time with his new wife and family and friends, it was an important win for the Canadian as it keeps him in the running for the ATP Finals with Musetti currently occupying the eighth and final spot in the Race To Turin.
But don’t for one moment think that Auger-Aliassime regrets not competing in Japan or China to put himself in a stronger position.
“I wasn’t worried one second. I mean, I was getting married. If I’m worried about my tennis getting married, I have other problems,” he said with a smile. “I mean, seriously. Like, I just spent the best two weeks of my life with my wife and her family and mine and my friends. I mean, it was an amazing time.
“This tour can wait when you’re in these moments. But seriously, yes, I had an amazing time on a personal level. Then you can kind of get a break. I came here earlier to train. I could have played in Tokyo or Beijing, but it was impossible with the lack of training I had in the past weeks.
“I think it was the right decision to come here early, train, relax, and try to play a good tournament here.”
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With the win over Musetti, the 25-year-old finds himself 530 points behind the Italian with the seventh-placed Alex de Minaur and sixth-placed Ben Shelton also not too far ahead.
Live ATP Finals Race To Turin
1. Carlos Alcaraz – 11,040 ✓
2. Jannik Sinner – 8,500 ✓
3. Novak Djokovic – 4,380
4. Alexander Zverev – 4,280
5. Taylor Fritz – 3,835
6. Ben Shelton – 3,720
7. Alex de Minaur – 3,545
8. Lorenzo Musetti – 3,435
9. Jack Draper – 2,990
10. Felix Auger-Aliassime – 2,905
11. Casper Ruud – 2,495
12. Holger Rune – 2,490
Auger-Alliassime faces Arthur Rinderknech in the quarter-finals in Shanghai and victory will see him move to 3,105 points and above Jack Draper, who won’t play again this year due to injury.
Meanwhile, a title run will result in a jump to seventh place with 3,705 points, but there are still a lot of big names remaining in the draw as he could face Daniil Medvedev or De Minaur in the semi-final, while 24-time Grand Slam winner Novak Djokovic is also still alive.
The battle between Musetti and Auger-Aliassime will continue after Shanghai as both have signed up for European Open in Brussels (October 13-19) while they will be in action at the Swiss Indoors (Auger-Aliassime) and Vienna Open (Musetti) before ending the regular season at the Paris Masters.
With one ATP 250 event, one ATP 500 and one ATP Masters 1000 still to come for most of those lookin got qualify for the season-ending Turin event, the fight will go down to the wire.
