De Minaur moves inside Turin cut after downing Draper in Paris
Alex de Minaur’s late charge to qualify for his maiden appearance at the Nitto ATP Finals is picking up serious pace at the Rolex Paris Masters.
The ninth seed rallied to defeat Jack Draper 5-7, 6-2, 6-3, snapping the Briton’s red-hot seven-match winning streak. With the triumph, De Minaur climbed inside the qualification spots in the PIF ATP Live Race To Turin, passing Andrey Rublev to eighth.
De Minaur now trails sixth-placed Novak Djokovic by 165 points, with fellow Turin hopefuls Grigor Dimitrov (10th) and Stefanos Tsitsipas (11th) still alive in Paris.
Now that’s dead-ication 😜😈@alexdeminaur equals his personal-best 47th win of the season! #RolexParisMasters | @RolexPMasters pic.twitter.com/mVDWpDwmnH
— ATP Tour (@atptour) October 31, 2024
Draper’s intensity was palpable from the onset, but De Minaur bounced back in a near-flawless second set, during which he won 92 per cent (12/13) of points behind his first delivery, according to Infosys ATP Stats.
The 25-year-old maintained the momentum in the early stages of the final set, racing to a 2-0 lead. Despite relinquishing the break, De Minaur dialled back in to clinch victory in a gruelling two-hour, five-minute battle.
After equalling his personal-best 47th win of the season, De Minaur will next face lucky loser Arthur Cazaux or Holger Rune for a spot in the semi-finals.
More to follow…
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