Zverev hits ATP Masters 1000 milestone in Paris, De Minaur on cusp of Turin cut
With his Wednesday win at the Rolex Paris Masters, Alexander Zverev became the fourth player to reach the last 16 at all nine ATP Masters 1000s in one season in series history. The third seed hit the milestone with a 7-6(2), 6-3 victory against Tallon Griekspoor in his opening match, his fifth consecutive Lexus ATP Head2Head win against the Dutchman and his fourth this season.
Zverev, who won his sixth ATP Masters 1000 title in Rome this May, is now 19-1 in opening matches on the year. The German fought off a break point in each of his first two service games against Griekspoor, and later fought off a set point on serve at 4-5, but hit his stride from there to pull away. Beginning with that set-point save, he won 16 straight points on serve to close out the opening set and start fast in the second.
Players to reach R16 at all 9 Masters 1000s
| Alexander Zverev | 2024 |
| Rafael Nadal | 2017 |
| Tomas Berdych | 2013 |
| Tomas Berdych | 2011 |
| Novak Djokovic | 2009 |
| Rafael Nadal | 2009 |
Zverev capitalised on his lone break point of the match to move ahead 4-2 in the second — an advantage that he coolly saw home behind his 86 per cent first-serve win rate. Both players won more than 80 per cent of their first-serve points in the match, according to Infosys ATP Stats.
The German will next meet #NextGenATP Frenchman Arthur Fils for a place in the quarter-finals. The 20-year-old beat Marin Cilic and Jan-Lennard Struff to pick up his first main-draw wins at the Rolex Paris Masters. Zverev and Fils have split two previous Lexus ATP Head2Head meetings this season, with Zverev winning on the grass of Halle and Fils taking a final matchup on the Hamburg clay. Both matches went three sets.
Alex de Minaur beat Miomir Kecmanovic 6-4, 7-6(5) Wednesday to bolster his bid to qualify for his Nitto ATP Finals debut. Hoping to become the first Australian to play in the Nitto ATP Finals since Lleyton Hewitt in 2004, the 25-year-old is now one win away from passing Andrey Rublev for the all-important eighth place in the PIF ATP Live Race To Turin — though Grigor Dimitrov and Stefanos Tsitsipas are also within striking distance behind De Minaur. Rublev was knocked out of Paris by Francisco Cerundolo on Tuesday, 7-6(6), 7-6(5).
De Minaur is through to the last 16 in Paris for the fifth time in six appearances, with his best result a quarter-final showing in 2023.
[NEWSLETTER FORM]