Aliassime, after resisting against Shelton: "I always believed I could come back"

Andrés Tomás Rico | 12 Nov 2025 | 18.25

Aliassime, after resisting against Shelton: "I always believed I could come back". Photo: Gettyimages

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Félix Auger Aliassime clung to the match against Ben Shelton as if his life depended on it. The Canadian walked on a tightrope for many moments of the match, both in the second and third set. However, unlike the American, he knew how to seize his opportunities and secured his first victory in the ATP Finals 2025 (4-6, 7-6(7), 7-5) after giving a lesson in resilience.

And he spoke about this in the press conference following his win against Ben Shelton, emphasizing the importance of capitalizing on chances against the best in the world, his effectiveness in tiebreaks (he has won 31 out of 45 this year), the different mindset in the ATP Finals, and his upcoming match against Alexander Zverev.

Auger-Aliassime never lost faith in his comeback against Ben Shelton in the ATP Finals 2025

"I started well in the first games, but then things quickly turned ugly. It was weird. I made, I would say, some serious errors that cost me the break. He made a great return on the break point. But I always believed I could come back."

"Again, I was unlucky to get broken again at the end of the first set. As the second set progressed, I kept believing my opportunity would come. I think I played a good tiebreak. I got a bit nervous at the end to close it. I don't know, I wasn't playing very well, but in the end, I got it. As the match went on, I felt I was playing better and better."

He shouted with happiness after winning the match

"It was a strange reaction, but I didn't realize. I think it was more influenced by how the match unfolded. Obviously, if I had won, let's say, in straight sets, I probably would have had a different reaction. But it was very genuine. I think the last game to win the match taking the last chance before the tiebreak is the most pressure-filled, because you know you're just a few points away from going to the tiebreak and having to deal with very high pressure. It was like my last chance. I played it exactly as I should and seized my opportunity. I think all that pressure just released at the end."

Regarding his effectiveness in tiebreaks

"As a player, you know you will face tough and tense situations at this level. I would love to win all matches in straight sets, like Sinner, right? For most of us, especially at this level, it is inevitable to find yourself in complex situations when the decisive moment comes."

"I try to mentally prepare during training to give more importance or difficulty to that specific point or ball. I set a goal: 'At this point, I want to be very precise, not make mistakes.' I try to prepare myself and my game to be ready for those moments. Then, I try to stay calm, set aside those emotions, be pragmatic, have a clear mind, and make the right decisions at the right moment. That's all I think about."

A different mentality when playing the ATP Finals

"First, you think: 'I need to be ready, focused, and precise from the first day, from the first point.' I think when you play against the best, in fact, the other day I was telling my coach that you feel like every point matters a lot. You feel immense pressure on the first point of the match, or when you're leading 30-0. But, for example, I know that with Sinner, in a game I was leading 40-15, I made a double fault and suddenly it was 40-30, but I wasn't as relaxed as if I were playing against someone else."

"You know that all week you'll be dealing with this kind of pressure. You prepare for it. Personally, I take it day by day. There's no reason to get ahead of myself. I try to get the first win. I couldn't win the first match. It's great that in this tournament you can lose a match and still win the tournament. Today it was like: 'Go for the first victory,' because then you know it's almost done. Now that I won today, I can breathe easy, because I'm already in the fight. If I win again, then I'll be fully inside. That's how I see it."

About his match against Alexander Zverev

"We played recently. Obviously, it's better that the match went in my favor than the other way around. So you step onto the court with a bit more confidence. But we'll see what happens. Obviously, we know each other well. We've played almost every year since 2019. He knows what he needs to do, I know what I need to do. We'll see who plays better on Friday," states a Félix Auger-Aliassime who doesn't want his comeback against Ben Shelton to be in vain and will give his all to reach his first semifinals of the ATP Finals.

This news is an automatic translation. You can read the original news, Auger-Aliassime, tras resistir ante Shelton: "Siempre creí en que podría remontar"

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