Basel
Auger-Aliassime builds on success in Basel, Turin hopeful Sheldon falls short
Shapovalov gives Fonseca QF clash in ATP 500
October 23, 2025
Basel Swiss Indoors
Felix Auger-Aliassime defeated Marin Cilic in two sets in Basel on Thursday.
Andy West
Felix Auger-Aliassim is back to winning ways at one of his favorite places, Swiss Indoors Basel, just when he needs it most.
The two-time champion beat Marin Cilic 7-6(2), 7-6(2) on Thursday to book an ATP 500 quarter-finals spot and boost his Nitto ATP Finals hopes. A year ago, Auger-Aliassime lost in the second round to eventual champion Giovanni Mpethi-Pericad, his only defeat in his first three appearances in Basel. Twelve months on, the 2022 and 2023 champion has made no mistakes against Cilic at the same stage.
Auger-Aliassime defeated Croatia’s former world number three with a 38-21 winner as the pair tied 3-3 in the Lexus ATP head-to-head series. Although both sets went to tie-breaks, the fifth-seeded Canadian came out stronger each time and prevailed in one hour and 47 minutes.
As the remainder of the Nitto ATP Finals race nears its climax, Auger-Aliassime could hardly have chosen a more crucial moment to make it six straight wins on European indoor hard courts. After lifting his third ATP 250 title of the season in Brussels on Sunday, the Canadian defeated two strong serving rivals in Gabriel Diallo and Cilic to reach the quarterfinals in Basel.
Auger-Aliassime, 25, who remains ninth at the PIF ATP Live Event in Turin, is a close second. He is just 400 points behind seventh-placed Alex De Minaur (who reached the Vienna quarter-finals this week) and 290 points behind Lorenzo Musetti (who is still alive in the Vienna draw).
Another Turin hopeful, sixth-ranked Ben Shelton, failed to make the quarterfinals against Auger-Aliassime in Basel. Jaume Munar defeated the 2024 finalist 6-3, 6-4 for his fourth career top-10 win. Munar has now won all three Lexus ATP Head2Head tournaments with Shelton in 2025 (Dallas, Rome, Basel).
Denis Shapovalov was another second-round winner earlier Thursday. The Canadian defeated Valentin Royer 7-6(3), 6-2 to advance to the quarterfinals against #NextGenATP star Joao Fonseca.
