Alexander Zverev ended the run of Frenchman Arthur Fils in front of an electric crowd at the Paris Masters
on Thursday.
Backed by a raucous home support, Fils troubled the German with his dynamic game at the Accor Arena.
However, with the pressure on, the 20-year-old ran out of steam in the decider, with world No. 3 Zverev earning a 6-4, 3-6, 6-3 third-round victory in the French capital.
“I am happy I hung in there today. It was a great match,” Zverev said. “Fils is a great player and has improved a lot this year. I am looking forward to the next few battles we are going to have.”
Zverev fired 16 aces and crucially saved three break points when serving for the match at 5-3. The German, who gained the decisive break of the third set in the fourth game, raised his arms aloft after sealing victory, silencing Fils and the French crowd in the process.
“The atmosphere here is a lot louder than at Roland
Garros. It is crazy,” Zverev said. “It feels the court is smaller and the crowd is on top of you. It is like an indoor atmosphere as well.”
Into his 31st ATP Masters 1000 quarter-final and sixth in 2024, Zverev will look to continue his run when he meets Stefanos Tsitsipas in the
last eight.
Fils was competing in the third round at a Masters 1000 tournament for the first time.
The dynamic Frenchman, who is first in the PIF ATP Live Race To Jeddah, earned wins against Marin Cilic and Jan-Lennard Struff earlier this week. However, the Hamburg and Tokyo champion was unable to find a way past Zverev, who held firm
when serving out to seal
victory after two hours and eight minutes.
Earlier, No. 10 seed Tsitsipas beat Argentinian Francisco Cerundolo 6-7 (1), 6-4, 6-2 to advance to the quarter-finals.
The Greek had to fight back from a set down to come through a testing encounter against the experienced and talented Argentine before eventually prevailing in three sets — the third of which was much more comfortable than the previous two.
Victory over Cerundolo means Tsitsipas has reached a 19th ATP Masters 1000 quarter-final since the start of the 2020 season — the most by any player over that period.
The win also keeps alive Tsitsipas’ slim hopes of qualification for the season-
ending ATP Finals in Turin next month.
The world No. 11 will have to reach the final in order to guarantee qualification, something he is now just two wins away from doing.
Earlier in the tournament, the Greek defeated Spanish lucky loser Roberto Carballes Baena (4-6, 6-3, 6-3) and Chilean Alejandro Tabilo (6-3, 6-4).
In other action, Karen Khachanov moved past Alexei Popyrin 7-6(5), 6-4. Khachanov has fond memories in Paris, having lifted his only Masters 1000 trophy at the hard-court event in 2018.
But, Wednesday was a disappointing night for Americans Taylor Fritz and Ben Shelton, who were knocked out of the tournament.
Fifth seed Fritz lost a tight match to Britain’s Jack
Draper 7-6(6), 4-6, 6-4, while Shelton was beaten 6-3, 7-6(4) by lucky loser Frenchman Arthur Cazaux.
For the 22-year-old Cazaux, it was his second career victory over a top-20 player. ‘Lucky loser’ Cazaux had lost in the final qualifying round but entered the main draw when top-ranked Jannik Sinner pulled out, citing a virus.
In other matches, ninth seed Alex de Minaur of Australia defeated Serbian Miomir Kecmanovic 6-4, 7-6(5), while 13th seed Dane Holger Rune continued his strong
run with a comfortable 6-4, 6-2 win over Alexander Bublik
of Kazakhstan.
Bulgarian Grigor Dimitrov, eighth seed, overcame a first-set deficit against
Argentine Tomas Martin Etcheverry to claim a 6-7(9), 6-3, 7-5 victory.
Dimitrov, who saved all three break points he faced, is in 10th place in the race to earn a spot at next month’s ATP Finals. Dimitrov could qualify if the reaches the final in Paris.
“It’s tough conditions, at the end of the year it’s very tricky,” the 33-year-old Dimitrov said.
“Everyone wants to empty their tank completely. I would give a lot to be in (the Finals). I’m in a place where I am still a contender, I’m still fighting against the best players in
the world.”
