PARIS: Jannik Sinner moved to within one win of reclaiming the world number one ranking with a 6-0, 6-1 dismantling of an ailing Alexander Zverev in the Paris Masters semifinals on Saturday, setting up a final clash with Felix Auger-Aliassime.
The Italian raced to a remarkable thrashing of reigning champion Zverev at La Defense Arena in just 61 minutes.
“I saw it straight away from the first couple of points that he was struggling physically,” the 24-year-old Sinner said after a fourth straight win over Zverev.
“It’s not the way you want to win a match but at the same time for me personally I’m happy to be in the final, it means a lot.”
Sinner will replace rival Carlos Alcaraz at the top of the rankings if he beats Auger-Aliassime on Sunday.
Canada’s Auger-Aliassime reached the second Masters 1000 final of his career by beating in-form Kazakh Alexander Bublik in the first semifinal.
Sinner and Auger-Aliassime have split their four previous meetings, although the world number two has won the past two including in this year’s US Open semifinals.
“It’s always good to play him,” Auger-Aliassime said of facing Sinner.
“I feel like he pushes players to be very, very disciplined tactically and to execute their game almost perfectly in order to win.”
Four-time Grand Slam champion Sinner is now on a 25-match winning streak on indoor hard courts.
He is targeting his fifth title of the season after last weekend adding the Vienna Open trophy to his Australian Open, Wimbledon and China Open triumphs from earlier in the year.
“It’s going to be a tough match, Felix loves to play indoors, like I do,” Sinner said ahead of his ninth final of the season.
Third seed Zverev made a dreadful start Saturday, with his forehand badly misfiring.
Sinner needed just 15 minutes to take a double-break and a 3-0 lead, sealed by a crushing cross-court winner.
Another wild forehand saw Zverev broken for a third successive service game, before Sinner wrapped up a bagel set with an ace.
It was the first time Zverev, who mustered just one winner in the opener, had lost a set to love since the 2023 French Open semifinals against Casper Ruud.
The German showed some resilience in the first game of the second set, though, staving off a break point as he finally got on the board.
But the resistance was short-lived, as Sinner broke in the third game when Zverev ballooned another groundstroke long.
Zverev called for the trainer but his race had long been run.
Sinner completed the demolition when a Zverev dumped another shot into the net.

- Auger-Aliassime downs Bublik -

Ninth seed Auger-Aliassime clinched a 7-6 (7/3), 6-4 victory as Bublik crumbled from 4-1 up in the second set of his maiden Masters 1000 semifinal.
“It’s a pleasure. All finals of Masters 1000s are a dream, but (especially) in Paris, a tournament with so much history and important past champions,” said Auger-Aliassime.
Auger-Aliassime climbs above Lorenzo Musetti into the eighth and last qualifying spot for the ATP Finals in Turin this month.
The 25-year-old can seal his second appearance in the season-ending tournament with victory in Sunday’s showpiece match.
Auger-Aliassime fell just short of a Masters title at the 2024 Madrid Open against Andrey Rublev.
Bublik, who made the French Open quarter-finals in Paris earlier this year, can no longer reach the Finals despite winning four ATP titles this year.
A tight first set flew by without a single break-point opportunity, before two weak forehands into the net from Bublik allowed a rock-solid Auger-Aliassime to win the tie-break.
The match burst into life early in the second when Bublik seized a 2-0 lead only to give the break straight back.
He reacted by smashing his racquet repeatedl on the court surface, earning a code violation.
Auger-Aliassime swept up some of the racquet remnants with a towel ahead of the next game, to the gratitude of his opponent.
The Canadian presented Bublik with another gift, firing a simple volley wide as he slipped 4-1 behind.
But Auger-Aliassime reeled off five successive games and took his first match point with a thumping cross-court forehand.