🔗 Share this article

Introduction

The typical complications of tournament pool play mean by this stage of the season-ending championships viewers are commonly scratching our heads, scrambling about for a calculator and striving to determine the complex permutations of qualification. However today's game between Zverev and Felix Auger-Aliassime, mercifully, is simple. This is a winner-takes-all affair: the winner sets up a final four contest against Carlos Alcaraz at this year-end tournament; the loser is eliminated.

Zverev is the favourite for this: the elite athlete is the more experienced competitor, has claimed the title at this competition on two prior occasions and leads their head-to-head six matches to three, having won both the games they've played on an enclosed hard court.

But … this is the surface on which Auger-Aliassime has claimed the majority of his titles, he is full of confidence after his compelling comeback against Shelton on Wednesday and he took out the German in the US Open third round in late summer. Plus, the court pace is quicker in Turin than at Flushing Meadows, which is even more beneficial in the Canadian's benefit.

Should Zverev be cautious, as he did against the Italian, and the Canadian presses the European player with his powerful serves and fearless play, there is a strong chance the 25-year-old Canadian – the former prodigy who was once in line ahead of Alcaraz and Sinner to replace the legendary trio – who secures the dubious honour of playing against the top-ranked player on Saturday.

Play begins: at about 8.30pm local time, 19:30 Greenwich Mean Time.