Felix Auger-Aliassime is making 2025 a year to remember. The Canadian star fought his way past Germany’s Alexander Zverev 6-4, 7-6 (4) at the ATP Finals, securing a spot in the semi-finals. Both players needed a win to move on, and despite 55 unforced errors, Auger-Aliassime remained calm under pressure. Now he gets a shot at world No. 1 Carlos Alcaraz, and the best part is that he already created history even before stepping into that match.

This year has been one of Auger-Aliassime‘s best. He started 2025 ranked 29th in the world, and after winning in Adelaide early in the year, he jumped to No. 23. Fast forward to now, and there’s chatter everywhere: Universe Tennis even shared a post on X, stating, “ Félix Auger-Aliassime will end the year in the ATP TOP 5 for the first time in his career.” Right now, he sits at No. 8, but once Turin wraps up, he is projected to jump into the top five, beating his previous career best of No. 6.

But to reach this far in Turin wasn’t easy for him. Auger-Aliassime struggled early in the tournament and even lost in straight sets to world No. 1 Jannik Sinner for the third time this season. But he turned his fortunes around with a strong win over Ben Shelton and then a victory against Zverev. These two victories earned him 400 ranking points and took his total to 4,245. He is now going into Saturday with an enormous task against Carlos Alcaraz, but also with momentum.

In reaching the fifth rank, he will surpass Ben Shelton and Alex de Minaur, as well as Taylor Fritz. However, there was a chance he could have been overtaken by de Minaur, but only if the Australian had defeated defending champion Jannik Sinner. Since that didn’t happen, Auger-Aliassime stays firmly ahead.

If Auger-Aliassime beats Alcaraz and reaches the final, he will rise to 4,645 points. That alone would be a huge achievement considering he was ranked 27th just before the US Open. And if he goes all the way to lift the trophy in Turin, things get even more exciting.

Winning the tournament would boost him to 5,145 points and put him ahead of Novak Djokovic at world No. 4. For a player who started the year outside the Top 25, this rise has been outstanding, and it leads us straight into the biggest challenge standing in front of him.

Felix Auger-Aliassime searches for the perfect plan to stop Carlos Alcaraz

Felix Auger-Aliassime walks into his showdown with Carlos Alcaraz knowing the odds are not fully in his favor, but also knowing he has a real opening if he plays smart. Alcaraz leads their rivalry 4 to 3. Still, Auger-Aliassime holds a perfect 2 to 0 record against him on indoor hard courts.

The problem is that Alcaraz has won their last four matches, including that rough 6-1, 6-1 defeat at the 2024 Olympics. Most predictions are leaning towards Alcaraz in straight sets, simply because of his form this week and how strongly he has handled this matchup recently.

But tennis is never that simple, and Auger-Aliassime has already shown in Turin that a smart plan can flip expectations, just like he did against Alexander Zverev. So, what helped him beat Zverev was seen closely by someone who knows elite tennis better than most. Timothy Henman broke down exactly why the 25-year-old succeeded:

“His serving was excellent today; he came up with big serves at the right time, saving those break points, but you know, he’s looking to get that forehand into play. ”

The little tricks that proved the difference were noted by Henman, too. As he puts it, Auger-Aliassime was “looking to use the slow slice to change the pace against Zverev” and also “dropped back to get that first serve back into play.” The most important lesson that Henman gained was that Auger-Aliassime had a definite plan, which Zverev could not keep pace with.

“So it was as if he was thinking, it was as if he wanted to really come up with a plan as to the way that he could dictate, and that was probably the difference, whereas Zverev, you’re just questioning, you know, when you see his footwork like that, it’s almost nonexistent on the forehand side. ”

That sense of clarity and purpose is exactly what Felix Auger-Aliassime will try to carry into the match with Alcaraz. He knows that against someone with the explosive power of the world No. 1, strategy can matter more than pure hitting. And if there is one thing that gives Auger-Aliassime real hope, it is how hot his form has been lately.