The ATP finals ended early for Alexander Zverev. The Hamburger lost in the last group game to Canadian Felix Auger-Aliassime in two sets.
The end for Alexander Zverev came in the group phase: the German tennis professional would have had to win his last match in the Björn Borg group at the ATP Finals in order to win his third title after 2018 and 2021.
But Zverev lost 4:6 6:7 (4:7) against Felix Auger-Alliassime on Friday evening (November 14th, 2025) – and was unable to continue his good form from the previous days.
After a win against Ben Shelton and a defeat against Jannik Sinner, the tournament has now ended early for the best German tennis player.
The season for Zverev continues
The Canadian, on the other hand, will face Spaniard Carlos Alcaraz in the semi-finals on Saturday. The second game will be played by Sinner (Italy) and Alex de Minaur (Australia).
This fluctuating season doesn’t seem to be over for Zverev yet. He had promised the Davis Cup team to take part in the final round in Bologna, Italy (November 18th – 23rd).
Zverev with a good serve
The game started on a solid level. Both Auger-Aliassime and Zverev had little trouble winning their first two service games. The German had the first break point in the Canadian’s third service game, but Augier-Aliassime then served three times so strongly that he was still able to win the game.
Both players slowly increased their level. However, Zverev failed to take control of the game against his aggressive opponent. By then, the 28-year-old had managed to use his greatest strength, the first serve, with around 80 percent, which made it difficult for Auger-Aliassime.
Slice balls on Zverev’s forehand
In the Canadian’s fifth service game, Zverev earned the next break point, but again Auger-Aliassime presented himself mentally strong and won the game again. And his tactic of repeatedly hitting Zverev’s forehand with the slice paid off in the German’s fifth service game. Zverev couldn’t do anything with the soft, slow balls and became more prone to errors.
Auger-Aliassime earned four break points. In the fourth attempt, the courageous Canadian prevailed against the increasingly passive Zverev and converted a forehand short cross to make it 6:4.
The level of the game drops
The second set began evenly again, with both players initially having little trouble with their serves. However, Zverev seemed increasingly dissatisfied and seemed increasingly frustrated, while his opponent on the opposite side didn’t change his expression and put on a poker face.
And in his second service game Zverev wobbled again, he was just able to overcome a 15:40 with good serves and mental strength and equalize the score at 2-2. And suddenly the tide turned. Auger-Aliassime suddenly seemed more cautious and also had to defend 15:40 on his own service, but he also managed to do so and increased to 3:2. However, the level of the game dropped significantly.
Faulty on both sides
Zverev’s following service game was riddled with errors on both sides. For ten minutes both players seemed to want to outdo each other with mistakes, both were extremely tense. In the end, Zverev was somehow able to equalize to 3:3.
Auger-Aliassime recovered a little quicker and was able to increase the score to 4:3. Zverev also found his way back on track and was able to equalize to 4:4. But the game remained flawed. The Canadian, however, served convincingly, Zverev mostly struggled to even return into the field. Both players subsequently held each other harmless and so it went to the tiebreak.
Canadians played more courageously
Auger-Aliassime looked braver and took a 2-0 lead, but Zverev was able to equalize immediately and even took a 4-3 lead. But after that, the Canadian’s more offensive style of play was rewarded and he ultimately deserved to win 7:4.