Félix Auger-Aliassime had the jitters, but he continued his winning streak on Wednesday morning. The Quebecer had difficulty disposing of Mikael Ymer 6-7 (6), 6-4 and 7-6 (6) in the round of 16 of the Paris Masters.
A few hours later, Auger-Aliassime received confirmation of his participation in the ATP Finals in Turin, by virtue of the loss of the American Taylor Fritz against the Frenchman Gilles Simon.
Auger-Aliassime, eighth seed of the tournament, took the measure of Ymer after a match-marathon of three hours and 29 minutes of play on the cement of the Accor Arena in Paris. He improved his record to 2-0 against Ymer, 74e world racket.
In the next round, Auger-Aliassime will face Simon, who defeated Fritz 7-5, 5-7, 6-4.
The 22-year-old looked tired at times against the Swede. However, he raised his level of play at the right time, as great players do so well. Auger-Aliassime therefore recorded a 14e victory in a row, a sequence during which he won three titles – those of Florence, Antwerp and Basel – bringing his career total to four.
This week in Paris, Auger-Aliassime, Andrey Rublev, Fritz and Hubert Hurkacz were all battling for the final two passes to the ATP Finals. The setback for ninth-seeded Fritz confirmed Auger-Aliassime and Rublev’s participation in the prestigious tournament, which will take place from November 13-20 in Italy.
Carlos Alcaraz, Rafael Nadal, Stefanos Tsitsipas, Casper Ruud, Daniil Medvedev and Novak Djokovic were all qualified for the ATP Finals which will feature eight tennis players.
For his part, the Ontarian Denis Shapovalov will face a little later today in Paris the Spaniard Pablo Carreno-Busta. If he wins, Shapovalov could face second-seeded Nadal in the third round.
Surprise, Medvedev eliminated!
Alex de Minaur caused an upset by ousting fourth seed Daniil Medvedev 6-4, 2-6, 7-5 in the second round.
After overcoming a 0-2 deficit in the third set, Minaur proved unable to convert either of his first two match points at 5-4. He hit a return out of bounds on his first and committed an unforced error on his second.
The Australian, however, got two more chances at 6-5. Medvedev saved a third match point with a service winner, but he double-faulted on the fourth before smashing his racket into the ground in frustration.
Medvedev, who won the Paris Masters in 2020 and was a runner-up last year, was broken in the first set after hitting a slightly too hard smash in the final game. The Russian, however, took advantage of his opponent’s unforced errors to break it twice in the second set.
Alex de Minaur will next face American Frances Tiafoe, who beat Jack Draper 6-3, 7-5.
For their part, Alcaraz overcame Yoshihito Nishioka 6-4, 6-4 to further tighten their grip on the world No. 1.
Alcaraz was broken in the eighth game but fought back with a forehand through to take the lead 5-4. He then won the first set with a forehand winner.
The Spaniard slammed another forehand winner, to steal Nishioka’s serve at 4-4 in the second set.
In other second-round matches, fifth seed Stefanos Tsitsipas defeated Daniel Evans 6-3, 6-4, recording his 58e victory this season on the ATP Tour — a peak. As for Lorenzo Musetti, he defeated Nikoloz Basilashvili 6-4, 6-2. He will face the next round the third seed, Casper Ruud.
Tsitsipas quickly took the lead 3-0 in the first set. He then slammed a forehand winner to steal Evans’ serve in the first game of the second set, before converting his first match point with an ace.