Introduction
The typical complications of group stage tennis mean at this point of the season-ending championships fans frequently find themselves scratching our heads, hastily looking for a computing device and attempting to calculate the brain-busting qualification scenarios. But today's game between Zverev and Felix Auger-Aliassime, thankfully, is simple. It's a direct elimination: the winner sets up a semifinal battle against Alcaraz at this year-end tournament; the unsuccessful competitor goes home.
Zverev is the favourite for this: the elite athlete is the player with greater achievements, has previously won at this event twice before and holds the advantage in their personal record six matches to three, winning both the games they've played on an enclosed hard court.
But … this is the surface on which the Canadian has won the bulk of his trophies, he’s riding a high after his remarkable turnaround against Ben Shelton on recently and he took out Zverev in the US Championships initial phase in late summer. Additionally, the playing speed is higher in the host city than at Flushing Meadows, which works even more in AA’s favour.
If the German player is reserved, as he did against the Italian, and Felix aggressively challenges the European player with his powerful serves and confident shots, it might very well be the 25-year-old Canadian – the former prodigy who was once in line in front of Alcaraz and Sinner to take over from the legendary trio – who secures the dubious honour of competing with the world No 1 the next day.
The match starts: at approximately 8:30 PM in Turin, 7.30pm GMT.
