Felix Auger-Aliassime’s Spectacular Comeback: How the Rising Star Ignited the Tennis World This Week

Felix Auger-Aliassime kept his late-season surge alive on Wednesday in Basel, dispatching compatriot Gabriel Diallo 6-2, 7-5 in the opening round of the Swiss Indoors to tighten his grip on a potential berth at the Nitto ATP Finals in Turin. The 25-year-old Montreal native, who lifted the Brussels title last week to draw within striking distance of the top eight in the PIF ATP Live Race, showed no signs of fatigue on the quick indoor hard court at St. Jakobshalle. Riding a six-match winning streak, he cracked nine aces, saved all three break points he faced, and converted two of his own to move into the last 16, where he will meet veteran Croatian Borna Coric. Momentum from Brussels Auger-Aliassime’s triumph in Brussels—his third trophy of 2025—propelled him to ninth place in the Turin chase, just 215 points behind eighth-seed Lorenzo Musetti. With 500 points on offer in Basel and another 1,000 looming at the Paris Masters, the Canadian controls his own destiny. “Every match feels like a final right now,” he said in his on-court interview. “I’ve dreamed of playing the year-end championships since I was a kid. The energy I’m feeling this fall is pushing me to fight for every point.” Canadian showdown delivers Wednesday’s all-Montreal clash marked the first ATP-level meeting between Auger-Aliassime and the 23-year-old Diallo, a former NCAA standout who cracked the Top 100 in August. Diallo’s booming serve kept the second set tight, but Auger-Aliassime’s superior return depth forced a decisive break at 5-5 before he served out the match in 90 minutes. What’s at stake • A quarter-final run in Basel would vault Auger-Aliassime to eighth in the Live Race. • Should he qualify, he would become the second Canadian—after Milos Raonic—to reach multiple ATP Finals appearances. • The last Canadian to win the Swiss Indoors was Denis Shapovalov in 2022; Auger-Aliassime is bidding to add his name to that short list. Path to Turin Round-of-16: vs Borna Coric Quarter-final: projected vs (2) Casper Ruud Semi-final: projected vs (3) Daniil Medvedev If he clears those hurdles, Auger-Aliassime would secure at least 300 of the 370 points he likely needs to clinch Turin before Paris. Key stats this fall • 17-5 record since the US Open • 77% first-serve points won in Brussels run • 94 aces in last six matches Looking ahead Auger-Aliassime’s renaissance has come on his favored indoor surfaces, echoing the hot streak that netted him three titles in four weeks in 2022. With confidence high and the draw breaking in his favor, Basel could be the springboard that sends Canada’s top man back to the sport’s elite eight.