Sinner wins Paris Masters and returns world number 1: 'This is huge'
The Italian beats Auger-Aliassime in the last Thousand of the season: he overtakes Alcaraz at the top of the ranking and 'helps' Musetti in the race to the Turin Finals
Sinner also took the Masters Mille in Paris, beating Félix Auger-Aliassime 6-4, 7-6, returning to number 1 in the world by overtaking Carlos Alcaraz (who surprisingly exited in the first round) and enjoying this success at La Défense, the fifth tournament won in an extraordinary 2025, considering the enforced three-month stop following the doping affair.
Today Sinner played a first set in which he never conceded anything to his opponent, who paid for the break he suffered in the opening set and never recovered: Jannik's serve was close to perfection (only three points lost), Auger-Aliassime was unable to find any breakthroughs and even at bat he showed weaknesses (just 57% first serves). The second set seemed to follow the same script, but the Canadian saved himself from two break points in the first game and appeared more relaxed and confident in the long exchanges, then kept his cool on the brink of the precipice (three break points conceded on 3 points) supported by his increasingly sharp serve.
It came down to the tiebreak, without the Italian ever running the risk of losing his serve, and it was here that an ill-timed forehand by Auger-Aliassime opened the way for Sinner to go ahead 5-2 and then close 7-4, on the first match point, with his favourite shot: the backhand. He looked up at the sky and was very satisfied with a tournament he had never won before and which will allow him to start the Atp Finals with confidence. "To be back at number one is a huge thing," he said after the match, adding that "the last two months have been crazy. I've tried to improve as a player and I'm happy. I thank my whole team, because without them this would not have been possible.
For the Canadian, the motivation in this match was special: he would have secured his participation in Turin. Lorenzo Musetti, who has become his direct pursuer (after his bitter defeat in Paris with Lorenzo Sonego), will play in Athens and will only qualify for the Finals if he wins the tournament. Auger-Aliassime, meanwhile, announced that he had withdrawn from playing the 250 in Metz due to a physical problem. And so qualification depends solely on the Carrarino and his performance in Greece.
