Paris Masters
Taylor Fritz beat Arthur Fils 6-3, 6-4 at the Paris Masters on Thursday 5 November to reach the quarter-finals and stay in the race for the ATP Finals. Tommy Paul also won, 7-6(3), 6-4 against Quentin Halys, so neither result went Frances Tiafoe‘s way, and the last two places in Turin are still open going into Friday.
Fritz Ends the Home Run
Fils, the No. 6 seed, played a day after he qualified for the ATP Finals for the first time, in the evening session on Court Central in front of a home crowd. Fritz, the No. 11 seed, won in an hour and 12 minutes. He needed the win: a defeat would have put Tiafoe into Turin. Fils goes to the ATP Finals all the same, and Fritz plays the No. 2 seed Carlos Alcaraz in the quarter-finals on Friday evening.
Thursday’s Third-Round Results
| Winner | Loser | Score |
|---|---|---|
| Tommy Paul (12) | Quentin Halys | 7-6(3), 6-4 |
| Ben Shelton (3) | Arthur Rinderknech | 3-6, 6-4, 7-6(5) |
| Luca Van Assche | Lorenzo Musetti | 7-5, 3-6, 6-4 |
| Taylor Fritz (11) | Arthur Fils (6) | 6-3, 6-4 |
| Casper Ruud | Jan-Lennard Struff | 6-3, 6-3 |
| Rinky Hijikata (Q) | Tomás Martín Etcheverry | 2-6, 6-3, 7-5 |
| Nuno Borges (LL) | Ignacio Buse | 6-0, 6-2 |
| Carlos Alcaraz (2) | Matteo Berrettini | Walkover |
The Frenchman Luca Van Assche ended the run of Lorenzo Musetti, who beat the world No. 1 Alexander Zverev the day before. Ben Shelton lost the first set to Arthur Rinderknech and won in a final-set tie-break. The qualifier Rinky Hijikata, who beat Novak Djokovic on Wednesday, came from a set down again, this time against Tomás Martín Etcheverry, and the lucky loser Nuno Borges dropped two games against Ignacio Buse. Alcaraz went through without playing when Matteo Berrettini withdrew.
What It Means for Turin
Six men have qualified: Alexander Zverev, Alcaraz, Shelton, Daniil Medvedev, Flavio Cobolli and Fils. Sinner is second in the Race to Turin but will not play, so Tiafoe and Rafael Jódar hold the last two places, and both are out of Paris. This is the live Race on 6 November:
| Pos | Player | Points | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Alexander Zverev | 9,350 | Qualified |
| 2 | Jannik Sinner | 7,950 | Out for the season |
| 3 | Carlos Alcaraz | 5,300 | Qualified |
| 4 | Ben Shelton | 4,720 | Qualified |
| 5 | Daniil Medvedev | 3,820 | Qualified |
| 6 | Flavio Cobolli | 3,680 | Qualified |
| 7 | Arthur Fils | 3,625 | Qualified |
| 8 | Frances Tiafoe | 3,390 | Out of Paris |
| 9 | Rafael Jódar | 3,234 | Out of Paris |
| 10 | Alex de Minaur | 3,170 | Out of contention |
| 11 | Taylor Fritz | 3,050 | Quarter-finals |
| 12 | Novak Djokovic | 2,940 | Out of contention |
| 13 | Tommy Paul | 2,925 | Quarter-finals |
Fritz and Paul are in opposite halves of the draw, so they can only meet in the final. According to the ATP, the last two places can go like this:
- Tiafoe qualifies unless Paul beats Fritz in the final on Sunday 8 November.
- Fritz qualifies if he reaches the final, or the semi-finals as long as Paul does not reach the final.
- Paul qualifies if he wins the title, or reaches the final and Fritz does not.
- Jódar qualifies if Alcaraz beats Fritz in the quarter-finals and Paul does not reach the final.
Friday’s Quarter-Finals
All times are UK time. Paris is one hour ahead.
| Court | Time (UK) | Match |
|---|---|---|
| Court Central | 13:00 | Ben Shelton (3) v Tommy Paul (12) |
| Court Central | Second match | Luca Van Assche v Rinky Hijikata (Q) |
| Court Central | Not before 18:00 | Taylor Fritz (11) v Carlos Alcaraz (2) |
| Court Central | Not before 19:30 | Casper Ruud v Nuno Borges (LL) |
The winners of the first two matches meet in one semi-final on Saturday 7 November, and the winners of the evening matches in the other. Shelton and Paul are level at 2-2 in their meetings, and Casper Ruud beat Jódar in the second round.
The Paris Masters is live on Sky Sports and NOW in the UK. Full coverage is on our Paris Masters hub, and the live Race to Turin and our ATP Finals hub track who is going to Turin.