Home favourite Jannik Sinner opened his ATP Finals title defense in commanding fashion, defeating an injury-hampered Felix Auger-Aliassime 7-5, 6-1 in his opening match at the Inalpi Arena on Monday.
With the one-hour, 41-minute victory, Sinner improved to 1-0 in the Bjorn Borg Group. 
The 24-year-old Italian extended his indoor winning streak to 27 matches and has yet to drop a set at the ATP Finals since his 2023 final loss to Novak Djokovic.
The win also keeps Sinner in contention for the ATP Year-End No. 1 ranking. 
He currently trails Carlos Alcaraz by 1,050 points in the Live Rankings, with the Spaniard having opened his campaign with a win over Alex de Minaur earlier on Sunday.
The first set saw a tightly contested battle as Auger-Aliassime fought off two break points at 3-2 and a set point at 5-4. 
However, Sinner secured a crucial break in the 12th game, during which the Canadian appeared to experience pain in his left leg.
After taking a medical time-out between sets, Auger-Aliassime continued to struggle physically, dropping serve early in the second set. 
He required further treatment on his left calf at 0-3 and again at 1-4 but was unable to regain momentum.
Sinner maintained his composure throughout, striking the ball with precision and winning 89% (32/36) of points on his first serve.
"I hope it&lsquo;s nothing too serious. I wish him obviously a very speedy recovery and hopefully he is back to 100% physically," Sinner said after the match.
&mdash;IANS

Sinner celebrates victory over injured Auger-Aliassime

Sinner starts ATP Finals strong with dominant win over injured Auger-Aliassime

Sinner Beats Injured Auger-Aliassime At ATP Finals

Sinner starts ATP Finals strong with dominant win over injured Auger-Aliassime

November 11, 2025 | 16:15 IST