Auger-Aliassime builds on Basel success, fellow Turin hopeful Shelton falls
Felix Auger-Aliassime has returned to winning ways at one of his favourite haunts, the Swiss Indoors Basel, just when he needed it most.
The two-time champion on Thursday edged Marin Cilic 7-6(2), 7-6(2) to book a quarter-final spot at the ATP 500 and simultaneously boost his Nitto ATP Finals qualification hopes. A year ago, Auger-Aliassime lost in the second round to eventual champion Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard for his only defeat across his first three Basel appearances. Twelve months on and the 2022 and 2023 champion made no mistake at the same stage against Cilic.
Auger-Aliassime outhit the Croatian former World No. 3 by 38 winners to 21 to level the pair’s Lexus ATP Head2Head series at 3-3. Although both sets went to tie-breaks, it was the fifth-seeded Canadian who finished stronger each time to complete a one-hour, 47-minute triumph.
As the race for the remaining Nitto ATP Finals nears its climax, Auger-Aliassime could hardly have picked a more crucial moment to string together a six-match winning streak on the indoor hard courts of Europe. Having lifted his third ATP 250 title of the season in Brussels on Sunday, the Canadian has now defeated two tough, big-serving opponents in Gabriel Diallo and Cilic to reach the last eight in Basel.
The 25-year-old Auger-Aliassime remains ninth in the PIF ATP Live Race To Turin, but he is hot on the heels of those above him. He is just 400 points behind seventh-placed Alex de Minaur (who is this week into the Vienna quarter-finals) and 290 points behind Lorenzo Musetti (who is also still alive in the Vienna draw).
Another Turin hopeful, sixth-placed Ben Shelton, could not set a quarter-final showdown with Auger-Aliassime in Basel. Jaume Munar upset the 2024 finalist 6-3, 6-4 for the fourth Top 10 win of his career. Munar has now won all three of his Lexus ATP Head2Head matches with Shelton in 2025 (Dallas, Rome, Basel).
Denis Shapovalov was another second-round winner early on Thursday. The Canadian downed Valentin Royer 7-6(3), 6-2 to book a quarter-final meeting against #NextGenATP star Joao Fonseca.
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