"Too stressful to watch": Felix Auger-Aliassime details avoiding Musetti-Djokovic final

Felix Auger-Aliassime is preparing for a reunion with Jannik Sinner, seeking revenge after three consecutive losses to the Italian over the last three months. The Italian won in the Cincinnati quarterfinals (6-0, 6-2), the US Open semi-finals (6-1, 3-6, 6-3, 6-4), and the recent Paris Masters final (6-4, 7-6).

The Canadian achieved great campaigns in the final part of the year, going from barely being in the ATP Race Top 20 by mid-August to securing a spot among the Top 8 just two weeks later, after reaching the Paris final.

Felix holds a 22-5 record since the start of Cincinnati, with three of those defeats coming against Sinner (in addition to a retirement due to injury against Munar, and a loss in the Shanghai Masters quarterfinals to the surprising Arthur Rinderknech).

Auger-Aliassime's consistency during the latter part of the year has allowed him to climb the rankings rapidly. After starting the season at World No. 30—following a 2024 marked by irregularity—he achieved the long-awaited return to the Top 10 in recent weeks. This year, he won three ATP 250 titles (Adelaide, Montpellier, and European Open), along with two finals and five other semi-final appearances—including the US Open.

Felix surpassed Lorenzo Musetti one week before the end of the Race, securing his qualification. As the 8th seed, he was drawn into the Bjorn Borg Group, where he shares a group with Sinner, Alexander Zverev, and Ben Shelton. The 25-year-old star hopes to take revenge for the recent losses against Sinner and start his Turin campaign on the right foot.

"You know that coming into this event that every match is going to be tough," Felix commented ahead of his duel with Sinner in the Turin debut. "I start the tournament with the toughest challenge, which is interesting in a way because I think winning a match like this one would kind of give you confidence that you can go very far in this tournament. If it doesn't go your way, it doesn't."

"But I'm going to get ready to be a little bit better than I was in Paris. I'm looking forward obviously to matching up with him, and also the atmosphere. It's probably going to be really good.”

The Canadian had a scare until the last moment before his qualification for Turin was confirmed. The Italian Lorenzo Musetti—who had fallen to the 9th spot after Paris—received a wildcard at the Hellenic Championship, where, if he lifted the title, he would leave the Canadian out. Musetti managed to reach the final, where he played for everything against Novak Djokovic. However, Auger-Aliassime admitted he was not watching the match on television.

"Actually, I didn't. I didn't. I was like, 'This is going to be a bit stressful to watch'," Auger-Aliassime said with a smile. “I was trying to stay away from all that stress. I was obviously following the scores, the results, but just focusing on what was under my control, trying to get ready and stay relaxed.”

Felix had also planned to play in Metz, but physical problems and fatigue led him to decide to withdraw from the tournament. In that vein, Felix recognizes that he now feels in good enough form to go for the win against Sinner. "I feel good. Look, it's the end of the season. I've been dealing with some things. But I feel ready. I feel good," Auger-Aliassime said.

"I think it was not even the right decision for me, it was the only decision because for me it was tough to think to play Wednesday already in any other tournament. It was also jeopardizing potentially this tournament... Now I think I feel good and I feel ready to start.”