Former tennis professional Julien Varlet criticized Ben Shelton's tactical weakness after the latter's ATP Finals 2025 elimination. Shelton's hopes for the semifinals ended with a 6-4, 6-7, 5-7 defeat against Felix Auger-Aliassime on Wednesday, November 12.Ben Shelton, enjoying his best season on the tour, lost his opening group stage match against Alexander Zverev in straight sets. He started well by winning the first set against Auger-Aliassime in the must-win match. Still, the Canadian made a strong comeback to keep the semifinal hopes alive for the season-ending ATP event at the Inalpi Arena in Turin, Italy.After Ben Shelton's ATP Finals elimination, the former French player Julien Varlet slammed the American for not playing left-handers' game more often and advised him to study Rafael Nadal and learn the Spaniard's playing style. Speaking on the Sans Filet podcast, Varlet said (quotes translated from We Love Tennis):"At this level, I don’t understand the tactical weakness of Ben Shelton, the World No. 5. He doesn’t play the left-hander’s game. He plays with too much tension on his opponent’s forehand. I don’t get it. He doesn’t use the left-handed slice to force his opponent out of bounds often enough. I’m sorry, but Rafael Nadal’s strength was using his left-handed game. They don’t have the same style, but if I were his father, I’d tell him: You’re going to study Nadal for hours to learn about his playing style.""I’m not talking about his playing style. He almost never uses the less powerful crosscourt shot, with a steeper angle, to force his opponent out and open up the court on the other side. I don’t understand how a world number 5 can be so tactically weak," he added.Ben Shelton is set to face Jannik Sinner in his third group stage match on Friday. The top-ranked Italian has already secured the ATP Finals 2025 semifinal spot from the Bjorn Borg Group. Sinner boasts an impressive 7-1 head-to-head record against Shelton and is a strong favorite to top the group with another win on Friday.Felix Auger-Aliassime praises Ben Shelton's 'great serves'After ending Ben Shelton's hopes for the semifinals, Felix Auger-Aliassime praised his opponent's strong start and great serves. Shelton took the first set comfortably and was two points away from the second-set win. However, the World No. 5 struggled to deliver as his opponent improved his returns significantly and took the match.Speaking in the post-match on-court interview, the eight-seed talked about a tough start against Ben Shelton and credited the latter for his 'great serves'. He said:“He was playing much better than me at the start. It’s not often that I get broken twice in the first set indoors… It was a weird start, but as the match went on I was finding ways to put returns in the court. Once we engaged in the rallies, I felt like I could win more."“I have to give him credit, he kept coming up with great serves. When the opponent plays that well, you have to give him credit, but also to myself for staying cool,” he added.Auger-Aliassime is set to face Alexander Zverev in his last group stage match, and the winner will join Jannik Sinner in the semifinals from the Bjorn Borg Group at the ATP Finals 2025. From the Jimmy Connors Group, Carlos Alcaraz has secured the semifinal berth with two successive group stage wins. Lorenzo Musetti eliminated Alex de Minaur on Wednesday and will vie for the remaining semifinal spot against Taylor Fritz.