Alex de Minaur and Felix Auger-Aliassime failed to give their Nitto ATP Finals bids another boost when they lost in the quarterfinals of the Rolex Shanghai Masters on Friday.
De Minaur fell to Daniil Medvedev 6-4, 6-4. The Australian had a good chance to climb as high as No. 5 in the race to Turin, but his quarterfinal effort in Shanghai at least allowed him to maintain the seventh spot and even extend a lead over fellow Nitto ATP Finals hopefuls such as Lorenzo Musetti and Casper Ruud.
Auger-Aliassime got bounced by Arthur Rinderknech 6-3, 6-4. At No. 10 in the race, FAA needs another big result down the stretch of 2025–and maybe two–if he wants to qualify for Turin, so additional wins in Shanghai would have gone a long way toward that effort.
“I’m extremely motivated [to qualify],” the 25-year-old said prior to the start of this fortnight. “I started the year very strong and then for a couple months it was more difficult in the spring, but I had a great summer in America. There’s always ups and downs, but it’s been a positive year so far. So if I can make one last push in the next month to secure my place in Turin, that would be beautiful. But I’m not in it right now, so I need to push some guys out. I need to really play some good tennis and get a lot of wins.”
The world No. 13’s 2025 campaign is highlighted by a semifinal run at the U.S. Open. De Minaur’s points have come on a more consistent basis; he is 50-19 this season and has reached at least the quarterfinals of 10 events.
Ricky contributes to 10sballs.com and also maintains his own tennis website, The Grandstand. You can follow him on Twitter at @Dimonator.