Jannik Sinner labelled ‘not invincible’ ahead of Paris Masters final showdown
Jannik Sinner’s Paris Masters final opponent Felix Auger-Aliassime said the Italian is “not invincible” as he looks to pull off an upset.
The Canadian is all that stands in the way of Sinner and a fifth ATP 1000 title, but the Italian is a heavy favourite going into the match, despite both players being on two wins in their overall head-to-head.
They last faced each other at the US Open, with Sinner winning three sets to one, and while Auger-Aliassime admitted that and a crushing 6-0, 6-2 defeat in Cincinnati were in his mind, he maintained that Sinner was beatable.
“Especially in Cincinnati, the defeat was very tough,” Auger-Aliassime recalled. “I was far from beating him. So at the US Open, he was much better.
“At one point, I saw him hesitate. And in fact, at one point, I almost managed to turn the tide and turn the match around in my favour.
“For various reasons, perhaps he had a dip in form, and the match took an unexpected turn. But it was encouraging to see him.
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“Sinner isn’t invincible. He’s very strong, yes. Sometimes he’s unstoppable, but he’s not invincible.”
While the record may be two a piece, Sinner has won the last two meetings but Auger-Aliassime was looking forward to the tactical challenge of facing the former world no.1.
“We’re 2-2, but it’s not like — you know, obviously he’s the favourite on paper, because we played a good match I think in New York. I think it was good tennis. But he still got the best of me.
“Obviously the first times I won it was before he was Jannik, you know. It was, like, young Jannik. He improved a lot since then.
“But it’s always good to play him. I feel like 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 mistakes. So I’m going to try to do that and win tomorrow.
“I don’t want to look ahead too much, but I’m watching tennis. I see everything that’s happening, the players, the momentum of everyone. Jannik and Carlos are indeed at a very high level. There are also players who have shown a consistent level like Fritz, for instance. They’ve shown a lot of consistency.
“I have a lot of work to do on that field, but for some months now I can see that I’m reaching the right level, that I’m actually controlling my game. You know, when I compare that period in 2022, when I won 16 matches in a row, that was actually a wonderful period, but that helped me to learn from that period, as well. These are the two important phases of my career, then and now.”
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