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Khachanov's hot streak sinks Dimitrov's Turin hopes in Paris

  • Posted: Nov 01, 2024

Karen Khachanov snapped a four-match losing streak against Grigor Dimitrov to charge into the Rolex Paris Masters semi-finals Friday night as he eliminated the Bulgarian from Nitto ATP Finals contention with a comfortable 6-2, 6-3 win.

Dimitrov needed to beat Khachanov and then advance to the final to pass eighth-placed Alex De Minaur in the PIF ATP Live Race to Turin and move inside the cut for the season finale, which he won on debut in 2017.

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In a battle between this year’s leading indoor match wins leaders, Dimitrov lacked his usual spark after a draining third-set tie-break win over Arthur Rinderknech the night before. In contrast, an energized Khachanov continued his sizzling form, claiming his 12th win in his past 13 matches.

“I started sharp from the baseline and tried to put pressure from the beginning,” Khachanov said. “I was able to break him in the first game and take the lead and after that I noticed that he wasn’t feeling 100 per cent. But he wanted to play and I respect that. Credit to him for that.”

Asked to explain the hot streak that has taken him to the Almaty title, the Vienna final and now to his fifth ATP Masters 1000 semi-final, Khachanov said, “I try not to think about it, to be honest. When you are felling the rhythm, feeling the momentum you just want to continue enjoying the moment and continue playing the same way, with just a slight change of tactics for a different opponent. But playing with the same belief, enthusiasm and enjoyment.”

The 2018 Paris champion, who saved a match point in his opening match this week against Australian Christopher O’Connell, was 0-4 in his Lexus ATP Head2Head series with Dimitrov, who won a third-set tie-break on an indoor hard court in Marseille in their lone meeting this year.

Dimitrov had a disappointing night on serve, putting just 48 per cent of first serves into play and winning only six of 26 second-serve points. In contrast, Khachanov needed to hit just 11 second serves for the match, winning seven. He did not face a break point. Khachanov made just 12 unforced errors to Dimitrov’s 28.

In the semi-finals Khachanov will play Ugo Humbert, who advanced to his first ATP Masters 1000 semi-final when he moved past Australian Jordan Thompson 6-2, 7-6(4).

French fans cheer on Ugo Humbert.

The French lefty upset World No. 2 Carlos Alcaraz in front of an electric crowd on Thursday night and backed up that win by defeating Thompson in one hour and 38 minutes.

In a dramatic second set, Humbert squandered two match points on Thompson’s serve at 5-4 before he lost his serve in the following game. The Frenchman quickly broke back to force a tie-break, sealing victory on his third match point.

Humbert has won his past 12 matches on French indoor hard courts, having lifted trophies in Metz last year and in Marseille in February. The 26-year-old is the first Frenchman to reach the last four in Paris since Julien Benneteau fell to Jack Sock in 2017.

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Koolhof/Mektic eye further Masters 1000 glory in Paris

  • Posted: Nov 01, 2024

Wesley Koolhof and Nikola Mektic continued the quest for their fifth title of the season and third at ATP Masters 1000 level together on Friday at the Rolex Paris Masters where they defeated third seeds Rohan Bopanna and Matthew Ebden 7-6(13), 7-5.

The sixth seeds saved four set points in an epic opening set before they fended off all five break points they faced in the second set, according to Infosys ATP Stats, en route to a one-hour, 47-minute quarter-final triumph.

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Koolhof and Mektic have won Masters 1000 titles in Indian Wells and Shanghai this year and will compete at the Nitto ATP Finals, to be held from 10-17 November. The Dutch-Croatian team will play Neal Skupski and Michael Venus in the semi-finals in Paris.

The British-New-Zealand pair defeated Ariel Behar and Robert Galloway 6-4, 6-2 in 63 minutes. Skupski and Venus reached the final in Vienna last week and beat top seeds Marcel Granollers and Horacio Zeballos in straight sets in Paris.

Lloyd Glasspool and Adam Pavlasek were also winners on Friday. They downed Frenchmen Sadio Doumbia and Fabien Reboul 7-6(5), 6-4. Glasspool and Pavlasek will next take on Wimbledon champions Harri Heliovaara and Henry Patten or US Open titlists Max Purcell and Jordan Thompson.

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Former champ Rune downs De Minaur to continue Paris run

  • Posted: Nov 01, 2024

Former Rolex Paris Masters champion Holger Rune kept alive his slim hopes of qualifying for the Nitto ATP Finals on Friday when he overcame Alex de Minaur in a dramatic quarter-final in the French capital.

In a baseline battle in Paris, Rune outlasted De Minaur down the home stretch to earn a dramatic 6-4, 4-6, 7-5 victory. The Dane locked in during the extended exchanges and recovered from squandering a break advantage in the third set to reach his fifth ATP Masters 1000 semi-final.

“He was putting so much up against me. He was making every ball with quality, deep in the court and the court is quite fast here,” Rune said. “I had to adjust my game a little bit and it was a constant battle but how I treated the last couple of games was very good. I went for it, I got it and I am very happy.”

The 21-year-old beat Novak Djokovic to win his maiden Masters 1000 crown in Paris in 2022 and is 12-1 at the indoor hard event. Rune is 13th in the PIF ATP Live Race To Turin on 3,025 points and can still qualify for the Nitto ATP Finals. Eighth-placed De Minaur (3,745 points) currently occupies the final Nitto ATP Finals qualification spot and is aiming to make his debut in Turin.

Should Rune win his second Paris title in three years, he would move to within 120 points of De Minaur. The Australian De Minaur will chase further points at the ATP 250 event in Belgrade and Rune will head to the ATP 250 in Metz next week.

Following his two-hour, 28-minute win, Rune improved to 3-2 in his Lexus ATP Head2Head series with De Minaur. The 13th seed will face Alexander Zverev in the semi-finals in Paris on Saturday.

“Sascha and I had a great match in Paris, where he took it in five. I beat him one time, he took me last time,” Rune said. “He is one of the best players this year, so I will have to be very well prepared and physically recover and build on the level from this match.”

De Minaur, who was chasing his second Masters 1000 semi-final, struggled on serve during the clash. He made just 47 per cent of his first serves according to Infosys ATP Stats. Rune attacked at every opportunity and fired 24 winners en route to his second Top 10 win of the season (Grigor Dimitrov, Monte-Carlo).

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Zverev reaches Paris SFs, ends Tsitsipas' Turin hopes

  • Posted: Nov 01, 2024

Alexander Zverev became just the third active player to reach 20 ATP Masters 1000 semi-finals on Friday at the Rolex Paris Masters, where he overcame Stefanos Tsitsipas to end the Greek’s Nitto ATP Finals hopes.

In the latest meeting of his long-running rivalry with Tsitsipas, Zverev saved the one break point he faced and hit with aggression and purpose in the fast indoor conditions to earn a 7-5, 6-4 win after one hour and 44 minutes in the French capital.

“I thought the whole match was a very good level from him,” Zverev said. “He started off hot, had some good chances to break me in the beginning. Maybe not break point wise but game wise. I got into the match and I found my rhythm and felt more and more comfortable and am happy with the win.”

Zverev, who joins Novak Djokovic (78) and Rafael Nadal (76) as a 20-time Masters 1000 semi-finalist, also became the first player born in the 1990s to earn 100 Top 20 wins (100-101). The 28-year-old Daniil Medvedev, born in 1996, is second, holding a 99-73 record.

Zverev is chasing his seventh Masters 1000 title and second of the season, having won in Rome. After improving to 6-10 in his Lexus ATP Head2Head series with Tsitsipas, the German will face Australian Alex de Minaur or Dane Holger Rune in the semi-finals.

“I felt like I could hit it quite hard today and against him, if you are just pushing it back, he is going to make you pay,” Zverev said on Tsitsipas. “He is someone on the forehand side who can be so aggressive and he can move forward. So I was happy to take that away.”

Tsitsipas is 11th in the PIF ATP Live Race To Turin but can no longer qualify for the Nitto ATP Finals, to be held from 10-17 November. Eighth-placed De Minaur (3,745 points) and 13th-placed Rune (2,825 points) are still in qualification contention.

Zverev will head to Turin next week and will chase his third title at the prestigious year-end event. The 27-year-old, who has already booked his spot in northern Italy, triumphed at the Nitto ATP Finals in 2018 and 2021.

Tsitsipas ends the season holding a 45-22, highlighted by his run to the title in Monte-Carlo. It is the first time the World No. 11 has finished the season outside the Top 10 in the PIF ATP Rankings since 2018.

Did You Know?
Zverev is just the eighth player in history to reach 20 ATP Masters 1000 semi-finals. He joins Djokovic (78), Nadal (76), Roger Federer (66), Andy Murray (33), Andre Agassi (32), Pete Sampras (31), Andy Roddick (20).

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Alcaraz on Humbert stunner: ‘I gave everything’

  • Posted: Nov 01, 2024

A four-time champion at Spanish ATP Tour events, Carlos Alcaraz knows all about raising his level for a home crowd. On Thursday at the Rolex Paris Masters, the No. 2 in the PIF ATP Rankings recognised he may have been on the receiving end of that trend from Ugo Humbert.

“I think I could play better. I think that’s obvious. But with the level that I had today, I think I compete, I gave everything,” Alcaraz said in his post-match press conference after his three-set defeat to the inspired Frenchman in Paris. “I fought until the last point. I have to congratulate Ugo. I think his performance has been really high. The way he hits the ball is unbelievable. It’s amazing.

“I think every time that he plays against me, I feel like he increases his level. He plays a really high level of tennis. I think in Paris even more so. So congratulations to him, and good luck.”

Alcaraz acknowledged that, although he generally does not favour fast conditions like those at Paris-Bercy this year, they don’t mean much without an opponent who can exploit them. Humbert produced a performance packed with clean, flat hitting that had the World No. 2 struggling from the first game.

“[It is difficult] when I play against someone like Ugo that doesn’t let you get rhythm into the match,” said Alcaraz, who will next compete at the Nitto ATP Finals in Turin. “He plays probably every time at his 100 per cent, really flat. So I couldn’t play a good tennis.

“I practised [indoors] at home, but it isn’t the same court, or the speed [of] court… So I wasn’t surprised about my level, about my game, but I was surprised about everything a little bit.”

While the on-court battle in the third Lexus ATP Head2Head meeting between Alcaraz and Humbert was exhilarating, the courtside action during the pair’s Thursday evening encounter also did not disappoint. A packed arena generated a raucous atmosphere from the opening game to the last and, although Alcaraz naturally did not receive the bulk of the support when playing against a home favourite, he was full of praise for the French crowd.

“I have had a lot of success here in Paris, so I guess a lot of [fans] support me a little bit… [I was] playing against a French player, one of the best French players that France has right now, and [the fans] were great,” reflected Alcaraz. “I had really great points where they were cheering on me a little bit. They [stood] up, clap my points. So I appreciate it, honestly, and the crowd was really respectful. It was a really good match.”

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