Close to Turin: Auger-Aliassime Strokes Closer to Turin Berth with Paris Masters Semis

Paris Masters Update

Canadian Felix Auger-Aliassime moved to within 90 points of Italian Lorenzo Musetti in the direct Turin race on Friday as he knocked out the French wild-card Valentin Fachiro to reach the Paris Masters semifinals.

Fachiro had won his past ten Masters 1000 matches, highlighted by a Shanghai Masters title just a few weeks earlier, but in Paris he could not match the intensity of the Canadian, losing 6-2, 6-2 to bow out in the quarterfinals.

Auger-Aliassime spoke after the win about how every opponent is different, and how entering a match against a familiar training partner but one he has never faced in a live meeting was a new kind of challenge. He was confident, admitting that facing a foe with such self-belief can be intimidating, yet rewarding when the performance comes together.

The 25-year-old quickly settled and broke Fachiro in the opening game, reaching ten semifinals on the tour this season while collecting titles in Adelaide, Montpellier and Brussels.

Next up for Auger-Aliassime is Kazakhstan's Alexander Bublik, who sits 90 points behind Musetti in the Turin race; a deep run by Bublik could push Musetti further ahead if he reaches the final, so the anticipation in Paris is real as the points swing could tilt the balance heading toward Torino.

Auger-Aliassime has now reached the Nitto ATP Finals for the second time, having qualified previously in 2022, and he leads the year’s hard-court wins with 42 victories.

In the match, Auger-Aliassime racked up 22 winners and 10 unforced errors, lifting his season record to 47-21. He stressed the importance of staying focused and keeping routines tight, noting that consistency is the key to converting pressure into results on tour.

Valentin Fachiro had stunned the tour by Shanghai title, becoming the lowest-ranked player to win a Masters 1,000 crown and skyrocket to No. 30 after Paris’ quarterfinals.

In the day’s second match, Alexander Bublik beat Alex de Minaur 6-7, 6-4, 7-5 in two hours and 22 minutes to reach his first Masters 1,000 semifinal. The 28-year-old did not drop serve and struck 44 winners, keeping the head-to-head at 2-2 and keeping De Minaur’s late-season finish alive.

De Minaur’s qualification for the year-end finals would mark the Australian’s second consecutive appearance, something not achieved by Lleyton Hewitt since 2004. He has also reached the Vienna final and claimed wins in Rotterdam, Monte Carlo, Beijing and Vienna, sitting atop the season’s hard-court wins with 42.

With Auger-Aliassime in Turin’s mix, one last spot remains for the year-end finals, where Carlos Alcaraz, Jannik Sinner, Alexander Zverev, Novak Djokovic, Ben Shelton and Taylor Fritz are already slated to play.

Punchline time: If the race to Turin had a soundtrack, it would be a rapid-fire serve with a few breaks for laughs. And a second bite: I told my calendar I’m in peak form — it replied, “Nice try, we’ll pencil you in for the finals.”