It was already an eventful day in Bercy. But the last Frenchman in the draw wouldn’t let Friday end without producing more excitement.

Julien Benneteau continued his dream run at his final Rolex Paris Masters, advancing to his second ATP World Tour Masters 1000 semi-final (2014 Shanghai) with a victory over the highest seed remaining, No. 3 Marin Cilic, 7-6(5), 7-5.

“I believe that win ranks quite high in everything I achieved in my career,” Benneteau said. “When it’s over, we’ll see what will be the final ranking. It’s a bit early to say. But, of course, individually, I believe it’s my most beautiful emotion ever.”

Benneteau’s triumph came in what was only his fifth Masters 1000 quarter-final. And despite winning the 2014 Roland Garros doubles title among 12 doubles tournament wins, the Frenchman has never won an ATP World Tour singles trophy. The home favourite will look to move into his 11th tour-level singles final (0-10) on Saturday against the winner of 16th-seeded Jack Sock and the in-form Spaniard, Fernando Verdasco.

What better way to earn a first title than in his final Masters 1000 event on home soil?

Benneteau’s win on Friday was the wild card’s first victory over Cilic, who had previously led their FedEx ATP Head2Head series 3-0. It came after Rafael Nadal withdrew from the event earlier on Friday due to a right knee injury, making Cilic the de facto favourite to claim his second Masters 1000 title. Juan Martin del Potro, who was arguably the hottest player on tour, lost to ninth seed John Isner on Friday.

Yet it was Benneteau who stole the spotlight. Cilic battled throughout their match, breaking back in both sets, but it was the Frenchman who rode the energy shared by the raucous crowd despite showing fatigue. With Cilic serving to stay in the match at 5-6, Benneteau stepped into an inside-out forehand that his opponent could not reach, sending the Court Central fans into a frenzy.

“Yesterday was enormous. It was fantastic. I had good feelings, the way I hit the ball, everything. Today was good tennis-wise,” said Benneteau, who added that Cilic’s forehand, tactics, adjustments he had to make and more made today’s win very difficult. “All this brought together, it’s maybe my most accomplished match.”

Benneteau threw his racquet to the ground and almost immediately burst into tears, having secured his first win over a player in the Top 10 of the Emirates ATP Rankings since Shanghai in 2014 (No. 10 Dimitrov) and his first victory over a Top 5 opponent since Cincinnati that same year (No. 4 Wawrinka).

 Watch Full Match Replays

The inaugural Next Gen ATP Finals in Milan are set to launch on strong commercial footing, with numerous well-renowned brands in the world of tennis endorsing the cutting-edge event, set to take place at the Fiera Milano from 7-11 November.

The tournament will showcase the world’s best 21-and-Under players competing in an experimental format that will feature numerous innovations and rule changes to the game. Commercial partners for the tournament include:

• PEUGEOT
As Official Car and Platinum Partner of the tournament, PEUGEOT will receive significant on-court brand exposure at the event. The French car manufacturer will provide 20 vehicles as part of the tournament’s official transportation service, including the New Peugeot 3008 SUV model. PEUGEOT became the Official Car of the ATP World Tour at the beginning of 2016, a partnership that delivers today a presence at more than 30 tournaments on the Tour.

• EMIRATES
As Official Airline and Premier Partner of the ATP World Tour, Emirates in Milan will be present via the iconic net branding, in line with more than 60 events on the Tour. The world-leading airline is also the title sponsor of the season-long Emirates ATP Race to Milan, which determines which players qualify to compete at the Next Gen ATP Finals.

• RADO
As Official Timekeeper and Gold Partner of the event, RADO-branded clocks will be featured on-site and around the main match court. Additionally, RADO will sponsor the Shot Clock, one of the numerous innovations to be tested at this year’s tournament. A 25-second Shot Clock will feature in between each point during matches, as well as being used for a 5-minute countdown from the beginning of the walk-on to the start of each match. The clocks will also be used for changeovers and Medical Time-Outs. The tournament in Milan marks the first time in history that a Shot Clock will be used at an ATP tournament.

• LOTTO
As a Silver Partner, Lotto will dress the tournament’s ball kids on court, as well as occupying a booth in the tournament Fan Zone. The famous Italian brand, born in 1973, has a rich history in tennis, currently sponsoring the likes of David Ferrer and Daniil Medvedev.

• HEAD
As an Official Partner and official Tennis Ball of the ATP World Tour since 1994, HEAD will supply HEAD ATP balls for the tournament. The brand will also be present in the Fan Zone displaying a wide range of Head products in their booth.

• TECNIFIBRE
The Paris-based Official Stringer of the ATP World Tour will provide the stringing service of the Tournament. Tecnifibre will perform the professional service to players in the Fan Zone, where a wide range of Tecnifibre products will be displayed.

Angelo Binaghi, President of the Italian Tennis Federation, said: “Our tournament’s mission to experiment with change has received strong commercial backing and provides a great foundation for the event in year one. We are committed to looking to the future, with an innovative presentation of the sport, not just on court but across all elements of the tournament. We look forward to an exciting inaugural event.”

The seven singles spots in the tournament will be taken by Andrey Rublev, Karen Khachanov, Denis Shapovalov, Borna Coric, Jared Donaldson, Hyeon Chung and Daniil Medvedev. The final remaining 8th spot will be awarded to the winner of an Italian qualifying event, consisting of the best 21-and-under Italian players, which finishes on 5 November.

It has been an incredible journey for Juan Martin del Potro, who finds himself one match win away from qualifying for the season-ending Nitto ATP Finals in London. The 29-year-old Argentine was No. 47 in the Emirates ATP Race to London on Aug. 28. He has compiled an impressive 20-4 record since the start of the US Open and he has gradually improved after each tournament. Del Potro is playing in his fifth consecutive tournament in as many weeks. He brings a 6-2 head-to-head record against Friday’s quarter-final opponent, No. 9 seed and last year’s finalist John Isner. With a win, Del Potro will overtake Pablo Carreno Busta for the final spot in the Emirates ATP Race to London. If Isner beats Del Potro and goes on to win the title, the American would qualify for London. 

View FedEx ATP Head2Head matchups for Day 5 and vote for who you think will win!
 Del Potro vs. Isner | Sock vs. Verdasco | Cilic vs. Benneteau

In the next match on, World No. 1 Rafael Nadal takes on Serbian qualifier Filip Krajinovic for the first time. Nadal clinched the year-end No. 1 ranking for the fourth time with his opening round win over #NextGenATP player Hyeon Chung on Wednesday. The 31-year-old Spaniard is the oldest year-end No. 1 since the Emirates ATP Rankings began in 1973. Nadal is 85-4 lifetime against qualifiers and 34-0 in ATP World Tour Masters 1000 tournaments. Krajinovic is appearing in his second career ATP World Tour quarter-final, the first since 2010 when he reached the semi-finals on home soil in Belgrade. The 25-year-old Serb has compiled his best results this season on the ATP Challenger Tour with a 47-15 record (40-10 on clay) and 5-0 in finals.

In the evening session, French wild card Julien Benneteau looks for his first win (0-3) against No. 3 seed Marin Cilic, who is trying to reach the semi-finals in Paris for the second straight year. The 35-year-old Benneteau is appearing in his fifth career Masters 1000 quarter-final, the first since 2014 Shanghai. His best Masters 1000 result was the semi-finals in 2014 Cincinnati. Cilic is 8-4 in quarter-final matches this season and his best Masters 1000 result was the semi-finals in Shanghai last month (l. to Nadal).

In the final match on, unseeded Fernando Verdasco meets No. 16 seed Jack Sock, who won the only previous meeting in the second round at 2015 Stockholm. Verdasco is appearing in his first Paris quarter-final in his 14th straight tournament showing. The 33-year-old Madrid native is playing in his first Masters 1000 quarter-final since 2012 Madrid. Sock is making his second straight quarter-final appearance in Paris. Sock is trying to reach his second Masters 1000 semi-final this season and in his career (Indian Wells).