Paris Masters 2024 Round 3 Recap – Perfect Tennis

The 2024 Rolex Paris Masters quarterfinal lineup is set, and just 24 hours after five Frenchmen booked their spots in the last sixteen, only one of them is left standing.

Surprisingly, that’s Ugo Humbert as he took out second seed Carlos Alcaraz with a pedal-to-the-metal type performance of flat ball striking that took the racket out of the Spaniard’s hands.

The remaining four, Adrian Mannarino and the three Arthurs – Fils, Cazaux, and Rinderknech could not replicate yesterday’s results.

Fils and Cazaux came close, the former pushing Zverev to three sets, while Cazaux saw Rune overturn the loss of the first set to make his third consecutive quarterfinal at the Paris Masters.

However, it was Rinderknech who perhaps had the best chance, coming from a set down to lead 5-3 in the third set tiebreak only to see Dimitrov reel off four straight points for victory.

The full results are below. De Minaur, Dimitrov, Tsitsipas, and Rune are all still in with a chance of qualifying for the ATP Finals.

Rolex Paris Masters Round of 16 Results

Winner	Loser	Scoreline
Holger Rune (13)	Arthur Cazaux	3-6 6-3 6-4
Alex de Minaur (9)	Jack Draper	5-7 6-2 6-3
Alexander Zverev (3)	Arthur Fils	6-4 3-6 6-3
Stefanos Tsitsipas (10)	Francisco Cerundolo	6-7(1) 6-4 6-2
Grigor Dimitrov (8)	Arthur Rinderknech (WC)	6-2 4-6 7-6(5)
Karen Khachanov	Alexei Popyrin	7-6(5) 6-4
Jordan Thompson	Adrian Mannarino (WC)	7-5 7-6(5)
Ugo Humbert (15)	Carlos Alcaraz (2)	6-1 3-6 7-5

Tsitsipas Keeps Turin Hopes Alive

Stefanos Tsitsipas entered Paris, having made the semi-finals for the past two years. This time around, he needs to go at least one better to stand a chance of qualifying for Turin, and so far, he’s pulled off two crucial victories, the latest a comeback to defeat Francisco Cerundolo 6-7(1), 6-4, 6-2.

Like in his last match, Tsitsipas started slowly in the opener, dropping the tiebreak 1-7, but he shifted to a more aggressive style in the second set, breaking Cerundolo in the third game and continuing to elevate his performance to clinch the match in two hours and 21 minutes. 

The Greek will face Sascha Zverev in Friday’s quarterfinal, and anything but a win will end his hopes of qualifying for the ATP finals.

Zverev Foils Fils

Alexander Zverev ended more French hopes on Thursday as he overcame Arthur Fils 6-4, 3-6, 6-3 in front of a lively crowd.

Fils has been in great form, and he pushed Zverev all the way. However, there’s a reason Sascha is right up there on the serve stats leaderboard this season. He fired down 16 aces and crucially saved three break points while serving for the match at 5-3 to get the job done.

Next up for the German is Stefanos Tsitsipas, whom he leads 10-5 in the H2H. Sascha is already set for Turin, 

I am happy I hung in there today. It was a great match. He is a great player and has improved a lot this year. I am looking forward to the next few battles we are going to have. The atmosphere here is a lot louder than at Roland Garros. It is crazy. It feels the court is smaller and the crowd is on top of you. It is like an indoor atmosphere as well. It is something we don’t get a lot on Tour but I love it. I love to play in Paris. It is one of my favourite cities in the world to play because of the crowd. They are very energetic and very loud. Zverev on the Bercy crowd.

Humbert Humbles Alcaraz

I had a feeling that Ugo Humbert might upset the apple cart on Thursday, and he delighted the home crowd by recording a 6-1, 3-6, 7-5 victory.

Humbert is a flashy lefty, and he dominated the opening set, winning the first five games to catch Alcaraz cold.

The Spaniard fought back in the second set, breaking Humbert’s serve to take the set, but he was never quite able to get the rhythm from the baseline he sought.

The deciding set featured thrilling rallies, but after pulling off an impressive hold at 5-5, Humbert capitalised by breaking in the 12th game to clinch his spot in the quarterfinals.

Looking at the stats, it’s hard to separate the two of them, but Humbert was more aggressive on second-serve returns and opted to tee off on his shots when under pressure. That took the racket out of Alcaraz’s hands, and Humbert’s gung-ho game stopped him from building the points.

The other fundamental difference maker was the crowd, which was fervent and got the adrenaline pumping for their home player, who had an extra spring in his step throughout.

I went for every shot. That’s why I think I had less energy in the second set and after in the third it was a mountain that was with me from the beginning of the third set to the end. I trusted myself in big moments and I made some big shots. Humbert on his big win.

Other Matches of Note

Thompson Mutes Mannarino: Two flat ball strikers, but it was the Aussie who came out on top, saving a couple of set points at the tail end of set two and then recovering from 3-5 in the tiebreak to oust Mannarino 7-5, 7-6(5) in the opening match of the day.

Khachanov Passes Popyrin: Karen Khachanov moved past Alexei Popyrin, 7-6(5), 6-4, to further showcase his indoor hardcourt form (most wins of anyone this season), and he’s looking to mirror his title run from 2018.

De Minaur Downs Draper: Alex de Minaur’s quest for an ATP Finals appearance is moving in the right direction. He defeated Jack Draper 5-7, 6-2, 6-3, ending the Brit’s seven-match winning streak. Draper started well with high intensity, but de Minaur’s retrieval skills are hard to put away, and the Aussie is now ahead of Rublev in the 8th qualification spot.

Rune Conquers Cazaux: Holger Rune made his third straight quarterfinal in Bercy with a 3-6, 6-3, 6-4 win over Arthur Cazaux. The Frenchman beat Rune at the Australian Open earlier this year, and he started well here, too, in front of a boisterous crowd, but the Dane thrives in Paris. He’ll face de Minaur in tomorrow’s quarterfinal.

Dimitrov Rallies Past Rinderknech: Initially, this one looked like it would be the most straightforward of the day’s matches, but a horrific game at 4-4 in the second from Dimitrov gave Rinderknech a way back in and run it to a third set tie break before the Bulgarian eventually came through 6-2 4-6 7-6(5). I said Grigor needed an efficient match after 2h 44m on court in his opener, but he did just the opposite 😁

2024 Paris Masters Quarter Final Matches

Who wins Paris from here? Let me know in the comments.