Felix Auger-Aliassime found the self-belief when he needed it most to secure the fourth and final spot in the ATP Finals semifinals.
According to Tennis, the Canadian advanced our of the Bjorn Borg Group with a 6-4,7-6(4) win over Alexander Zverev on what he said was a "beautiful night" in Turin, thanks to a steely nerve when it mattered.
In a tense affair, Auger-Aliassime saved break points in the fifth and ninth games of the first set before striking for the only break of the match, and won the last four points in the second-set tiebreak.
He told Tennis Channel, “When a match is high stakes, the mentality is crucial. I think your biggest challenge is self-belief in these matches so you have to come in with the best belief. You know you're going to play a tough opponent, you know you're going to have to be decisive when you need to, you're going to have to be smart, you're going to have to stay calm.”
“There's going to be ups and downs, there was high tension in the second set, but at the end, I was able with a positive mindset ... beliving that my chance would come, and seize it,” he added.
Auger-Aliassime had reason to feel confident against Zverev. Though he trails the German in the overall head-to-head, he won their last meeting at the US Open. And after dropping his first three sets of the week, he secured a spot in the knockout rounds by winning his next four.
