Jannik Sinner extended his winning streak to beat Felix Auger-Aliassime and win the Paris Masters title, while reclaiming the World No 1 ranking from rival Carlos Alcaraz.
The 24-year-old Italian completed a dominant week in Paris by beating the in-form Auger-Aliassime 6-4 7-6 (7-4), sweeping to his first Paris title without dropping a set.
Sinner has now also won 26 matches in a row on indoor hard courts ahead of the four-time grand slam champion’s first defence of his ATP Finals title on home soil later this month.
Alcaraz, however, remains the favourite to finish as the year-end World No 1, with the Spaniard taking a lead of 1,050 points into the final event of the season in Turin, Italy.
For Auger-Aliassime, it was an opportunity missed as the Canadian ninth seed needed to win the title to book his spot at the ATP Finals. But the 25-year-old has still moved ahead of Lorenzo Musetti in the qualification standings.
“It is huge, it was such an intense final, we both knew what is on the line," Sinner said. “From my side I am extremely happy, the past couple of months has been amazing, we have tried to work on things, improve as a player and seeing these kinds of results makes me incredibly happy.
“Another title, it's been an amazing year, no matter what comes in Turin.”
Sinner was in control early against Auger-Aliassime and never relinquished it, dropping just three points on serve in the first set. An early break was enough for him to take the lead and he continually had Auger-Aliassime on the back foot in the second.
Auger-Aliassime saved five break points to make the second set more competitive, but could not challenge Sinner’s imposing serve. The final had to be decided by a tiebreak, which Sinner won to become champion in Paris for the first time.
The 24-year-old is now a five-time Masters champion, with his 23rd career title overall. Auger-Aliassime can confirm his ATP Finals spot in Metz, where he had a first-round bye.
