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Montrealer Félix Auger-Aliassime has qualified for the eight-man ATP Finals for the first time in his career.
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The 22-year-old Auger-Aliassime was assured of a berth in the year-end tournament when the only players with a mathematical chance of reaching the final eight — Taylor Fritz of the U.S. and Poland’s Hubert Hurkacz — lost in the second round of the Paris Masters 1000.
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Auger-Aliassime has been the hottest player on the ATP Tour during the past month. He won three consecutive tournaments in Florence, Italy, and Antwerp, Belgium, along with Sunday’s victory in Basel, Switzerland. He ran his win streak to 15 matches Thursday, when he beat Gilles Simon of France, 6-1, 6-3 to reach the quarter-finals in Paris.
Auger-Aliassime took control of the match early. He had seven aces and broke Simon twice on five chances while not facing break point in a dominant first set. After they traded holds early in the second set, the Canadian won four straight games to clinch the match. He ended the one-hour, 33-minute showdown with his fourth break on seven chances. Auger-Aliassime, who is seeded eighth, will meet 16th-seeded Frances Tiafoe of the U.S. on Friday.