Auger-Aliassime beats No. 1 seed Nadal at ATP Finals

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TURIN, Italy — Canada’s Felix Auger-Aliassime beat number one seed Rafael Nadal 6-3, 6-4 in Tuesday’s ATP Finals.

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Auger-Aliassime, the fifth seed in the season-ending men’s championship, had 81% of his first serve points and threw 15 aces.

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Auger-Aliassime’s round-robin record was now 1-1 with this win. The Canadian lost Sunday’s opener to Norway’s Casper Ruud, where he lost 7-6 (4) 6-4.

Nadal, on the other hand, lost 0-2 with one pool match remaining.

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Auger-Aliassime will face No. 8 seed Taylor Fritz, who was scheduled to face Ruud on Tuesday.

If Fritz loses to the 23-year-old Norwegian, Nadal will be out of the event.

“This is one win and one loss. If we can win two, we should be able to get through it, so let’s see how it goes,” said Auger-Aliassime. “They’ll play it tonight and I’ll be ready for Taylor in two days. It’s not easy. He’s been playing really well this year and these conditions are perfect for him.”

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It was the Montreal native’s first career victory over a 22-time Grand Slam champion. Nadal had beaten Auger-Aliassime twice before, including a tough five-set decision at the French Open in May.

Auger-Aliassime paves the way for the season-ending elite event in Turin, Italy. This is his three of his final four ATP Tour events of the year, thanks to an impressive 16-game winning streak.

The Canadian has credited his recent success to Rafael Nadal’s uncle and former coach, Toni Nadal.

“He helped me a lot and I have a lot of respect for him and his family. , we are doing our best,” said Auger-Aliassime.

Milos Raonic of Thornhill, Ontario is the only Canadian to have qualified for the 2014 and 2016 ATP Tour World Finals.