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Overview

The occupational hazards of round-robin tennis typically lead to during this phase of the ATP World Tour Finals fans frequently find themselves confused, hastily looking for a computing device and trying to work out the brain-busting qualification scenarios. However this evening's contest between Alexander Zverev and Felix Auger-Aliassime, thankfully, is simple. It's a direct elimination: the successful player sets up a semi-final contest against Carlos Alcaraz at this season-ending event; the defeated player goes home.

The German is the frontrunner for this: the elite athlete is the player with greater achievements, has claimed the title at this tournament previously on two instances and leads their head-to-head with six victories against three defeats, winning both their previous matches on an covered hard surface.

But … this is the surface on which Auger-Aliassime has claimed the bulk of his trophies, he’s riding a high after his impressive recovery against Ben Shelton on midweek and he took out the German in the US Championships early stage in late summer. Furthermore, the playing speed is higher in the host city than at the US Open venue, which is even more beneficial in the Canadian's benefit.

Should Zverev be cautious, similar to his performance against the Italian, and Felix aggressively challenges the German with his effective service game and fearless play, there is a strong chance the 25-year-old Canadian – the earlier standout who was once in line before the Spanish and Italian stars to take over from the tennis icons – who obtains the questionable privilege of facing the world No 1 the next day.

Play begins: at around 20:30 in the host city, 19:30 Greenwich Mean Time.