After seeing a match point of their own go begging in the second set, Rajeev Ram and Joe Salisbury had to fend off a match point to survive on Wednesday at the Rolex Paris Masters.

Facing the French duo of Sadio Doumbia and Fabien Reboul in front of the Paris crowd, the top seeds won the final three points of the match to secure a 7-5, 6-7(4), 11-9 victory and advance to the quarter-finals at the ATP Masters 1000 event. After Ram/Salisbury claimed the first break of the match to seal the opening set, they had a chance to finish the match on a deciding point on return at 5-4 in the second but could not convert.

The American-British duo rescued the Match Tie-break from 6/8, winning five of its final six points to become the first team to reach the quarters.

Daniel Evans and John Peers also advanced via a Match Tie-break on Wednesday, reaching the second round with a 3-6, 6-4, 10-5 win against Maxime Cressy and Gonzalo Escobar. Matthew Ebden and Jamie Murray joined them with a 6-2, 7-6(1) win against Frenchmen Richard Gasquet and Quentin Halys, making it two Australian-British teams in the win column on the day. For Murray, the victory moves him to 499 career doubles wins.

Nicolas Mahut and Edouard Roger-Vasselin ensured there would be a victorious French team on Wednesday with a 6-4, 7-5 win against Karen Khachanov and Andrey Rublev.

The singles field for the 2022 Nitto ATP Finals is set. Felix Auger-Aliassime and Andrey Rublev on Wednesday claimed the final two spots for the season finale, which will be played at the Pala Alpitour in Turin from 13-20 November.

Auger-Aliassime and Rublev join Rafael Nadal, Carlos Alcaraz, Casper Ruud, Stefanos Tsitsipas, Novak Djokovic and Daniil Medvedev in the Turin field.

Four of this year’s singles competitors — Alcaraz, Nadal, Djokovic and Medvedev — have reached No. 1 in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings. Djokovic, Tsitsipas and Medvedev have previously won the Nitto ATP Finals. Five-time champion Djokovic can tie Roger Federer’s record of six season finale triumphs.

There is also a surge of rising stars at the year-end championships, with six of the eight competitors — excluding only Djokovic and Nadal — aged 26 or younger. All six of those players have previously qualified for the Intesa Sanpaolo Next Gen ATP Finals.

Tsitsipas is the only player who has won the 21-and-under season finale and the Nitto ATP Finals in back-to-back years (2018-2019). Alcaraz will attempt to match the feat this year.

ATP Chairman Andrea Gaudenzi said: “The Nitto ATP Finals celebrates the best of the best in our game. Everything’s on the line for the players, whose remarkable achievements this season have earned them a chance to compete for its final title. Over more than 50 years this special event has created unique and unforgettable experiences for millions of fans, both in the arena and around the world. We’re thrilled to see the Nitto ATP Finals continue its incredible story in Turin this season.”

Five of the eight doubles slots in Turin have also been secured. Wesley Koolhof/Neal Skupski, Rajeev Ram/Joe Salisbury, Marcelo Arevalo/Jean-Julien Rojer, Nikola Mektic/Mate Pavic and Thanasi Kokkinakis/Nick Kyrgios have qualified.

This year’s Nitto ATP Finals will award a record $14.75 million in prize money. If the champion at this year’s tournament lifts the trophy without losing a match, he will earn more than $4.7 million, the largest prize money for an individual player in the history of tennis.

This will be the second edition of the Nitto ATP Finals in Turin. The draw is set to take place on Thursday 10 November at noon CET.

With his position atop the Pepperstone ATP Rankings on the line this week at the Rolex Paris Masters, Carlos Alcaraz opened his campaign with a 6-4, 6-4 victory against Yoshihito Nishioka on centre court. The Spaniard must reach the quarter-finals to guarantee a stay as World No. 1, with Rafael Nadal within striking distance should he win the title at the ATP Masters 1000 event.

Alcaraz was sharp in his first ATP Head2Head meeting with Nishioka, firing 30 winners and winning 11 of 12 net points in the one-hour, 12-minute contest. He hit nine aces in a strong serving performance, though he lost the only break point he faced as his Japanese opponent converted to level the opening set at 4-4.

Alcaraz responded with an immediate break back before serving out the opener, and used a finishing flurry to close out the match, winning 12 of the final 14 points. He recorded five love holds, including in his final service game, winning 85 per cent (29/34) of his first-serve points.

The Spaniard awaits Grigor Dimitrov or Fabio Fognini in the third round, with Andrey Rublev, Hubert Hurkacz and Holger Rune potential quarter-final opponents.

Nishioka finalises his 2022 ATP Tour season at 19-17, his best result a title run in Seoul last month. The 27-year-old was seeking his first career win against a reigning World No. 1.

Felix Auger-Aliassime produced a remarkable recovery to fend off Mikael Ymer and extend his winning streak to 14 matches on Wednesday at the Rolex Paris Masters.

After dropping the first set against the Swede, Auger-Aliassime faced two break points when trailing 1-4 in the second set as Ymer looked set to snap his opponent’s unbeaten run in style. Yet the Canadian dug deep to hold his serve before roaring back to complete a thrilling 6-7(6), 6-4, 7-6(6) triumph in three hours and 30 minutes at the ATP Masters 1000 event.

“Somehow I found a second wind after saving those break points at 4-1,” said Auger-Aliassime after the match. “I played better and better, coming through the court much better, serving better. It was pretty epic. Three hours and 30 minutes on the court, quality rallies. He was making me work all the time. Definitely a win to remember.”

Felix. Auger. Aliassime. 🤫@felixtennis rallies from 6-7 1-4 down to defeat Ymer in 3 hours 30 minutes!#RolexParisMasters pic.twitter.com/JAlsZVSpV9

— Tennis TV (@TennisTV) November 2, 2022

A few hours after his comeback win, Auger-Aliassime was given another reason to celebrate in Paris when his qualification for November’s Nitto ATP Finals was confirmed as a result of second-round defeats for Taylor Fritz and Hubert Hurkacz. The Canadian will make his debut at the prestigious season finale, to be held in Turin from 13-20 November.

In his match against Ymer, Auger-Aliassime kept himself alive by excelling at crucial moments — the Canadian converted four of five break points he had while saving 14 of 17 that he faced. His determination to stay on the front foot as often as possible also proved key. According to Tennis Data Innovation’s INSIGHTS In Attack analysis for the second-round clash, the Canadian hit 31 per cent of his shots from attacking positions compared to Ymer’s 16 per cent.

_{^{INSIGHTS In Attack for Felix Auger-Aliassime Vs. Mikael Ymer}}

Auger-Aliassime’s recent run has seen the 22-year-old win titles in Florence, Antwerp and Basel, and the eighth seed is now into the third round in Paris for the first time in three appearances as he chases his maiden Masters 1000 crown.

“[I’m pretty tired], but it’s not the time to complain and whine,” said Auger-Aliassime. “I decided to play these events, I won three of them, so I can’t complain. It’s fantastic.

“Here, I’m just trying to give my best. Let’s go and see day-by-day how I feel. Definitely today was a tough one, not only just the game but the way he was playing as well, he was making me work a lot. That added extra toughness to the match.”

Fritz and Hurkacz still had a chance of catching Auger-Aliassime and Andrey Rublev in the Pepperstone ATP Live Race To Turin if they could reach the championship match in Paris. Both players’ hopes were ended on a dramatic evening in Paris, where Fritz became the second consecutive player to fall in three sets to an inspired Gilles Simon.

_{^{Photo Credit: Corinne Dubreuil/ATP Tour}}

Simon, playing the final tournament of his professional career, backed up his thrilling first-round win against Andy Murray with a stirring 7-5, 5-7, 6-4 victory against Fritz. He converted four of 11 break points to extend his career by at least one more round in Paris, where he will meet Auger-Aliassime in the third round.

Hurkacz’s Turin qualification hopes were ended by Holger Rune, who prevailed 7-5, 6-1 in the pair’s first ATP Head2Head meeting to book a third-round clash against Rublev.

Rune, who next week will compete at the Intesa Sanpaolo Next Gen ATP Finals in Milan, did not face a break point in his 64-minute win. The Stockholm champion has now won 15 of his past 17 matches in the European indoor hard-court season.

When Tommy Paul played Rafael Nadal earlier this year in Acapulco, it was the first time he had faced a member of the legendary ‘Big Three’. In what seemed like a flash, the American trailed 0-6.

“I was so nervous [in] the first set. I lost the first set 6-0 and I was like, ‘I don’t think I’m going to get a game’,” Paul, who eventually lost 0-6, 6-7(5), told ATPTour.com. “I ended up starting [to] play really, really good tennis. He’s fun to play against.”

Not many players describe facing Nadal, one of the toughest competitors in the history of sport, as “fun”. But the 25-year-old is no stranger to standing across the net from the Spaniard.

“I practised with him actually three days ago,” Paul said. “I practise with him quite a bit, so it should be a fun match.”

The pair will clash for the second time on Wednesday evening in the second round of the Rolex Paris Masters. It will be Nadal’s first singles match since the US Open. Although Paul trained with the 36-time ATP Masters 1000 titlist in the leadup to the tournament, he knows a match will be different.

“Practising with him is super different because he hits a lot harder in practice. He really hits through the court and then in matches the balls just jump a lot more. He hits slower, but heavier. It’s different,” Paul said. “Obviously he uses his lefty spin to his advantage as much as he can and everyone knows he’s Rafa, he’s not ever going to give up even if he looks like he’s out of the match, so that’s always tricky. It should be fun playing him.”

Nadal is not the first Grand Slam champion Paul has played in Paris. Two years ago, he lost a tough three-setter to Stan Wawrinka in the second round.

“If you don’t live for those moments, you probably shouldn’t even be playing tennis. That’s what all of us wanted to do when we were young: play on big courts against the best players,” Paul said. “I played Wawrinka here on Stadium, but it was during 2020 so we had zero people here, it was super weird. So I’m pumped to play in front of a full crowd.

“From what I saw with [Andy] Murray’s [match against Gilles Simon], it looked like they were pretty into it here, so it should be fun.”

This has been the best season of Paul’s career. In September, he climbed to a career-high No. 28 in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings. The American has also claimed three of his five Top 10 wins. Paul will take confidence into his Nadal match after defeating another Spaniard, Roberto Bautista Agut, for the first time.

“This year it’s been a little more difficult [physically] because I played a full season for the first time,” Paul said. “The body’s tired, but I played really well today and obviously it’s not going to be hard to get excited to play tomorrow, so hopefully we can ride it out this week.”

In a memorable tournament debut, Holger Rune saved three match points — two in the second set and another in the third — in a comeback win against Stan Wawrinka to close Tuesday’s play at the Rolex Paris Masters. In a two-hour, 30-minute contest that finished after midnight on Court 1, the Dane battled back for a 4-6, 7-5, 7-6(3) victory to continue his blistering form on the ATP Tour.

A finalist in three of his past four events, including a title run in Stockholm, Rune has now won 14 of his past 16 matches. It’s a stretch that earned him his debut in the Top 20 of the Pepperstone ATP Rankings, as he began this week as the World No. 18.

Rune lost the opening set against Wawrinka on a late break, and the Swiss again threatened a decisive closing blow at 5-4 in the second. But Rune saved two match points to start a run of three straight games and force a decider. There was just one break point on offer in the final set, and it doubled as a match point with Rune serving to stay alive at 5-6.

The 19-year-old stood firm to hold and won his final eight service points as he ran away with the tie-break. Through to the second round, he will face 10th seed Hubert Hurkacz on Wednesday. The Pole was a 7-6(5), 6-4 winner against French wild card Adrian Mannarino earlier on Tuesday.

Rune will conclude his breakout season next week at the Intesa Sanpaolo Next Gen ATP Finals in Milan.

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With the defeat, Wawrinka’s 2022 ATP Tour season came to a heartbreaking close one week after a quarter-final run in Basel. The Swiss recorded an 8-14 tour-level record on the year but will be encouraged by his recent play after working his way back from left-foot surgery in 2021.