Alex de Minaur, Jordan Thompson both earn quarterfinals spots at Paris Masters
Alex de Minaur came from a set down to reach the Paris Masters quarterfinals.
In short:
Alex de Minaur beat Jack Draper in three sets to reach the Paris Masters quarterfinals and edge closer to a spot at the ATP Tour Finals.
Jordan Thompson also reached the quarterfinals of the ATP 1000 event for the first time in his career.
What's next?
Thompson will take on 15th seed Ugo Humbert in the quarterfinals, while De Minaur will meet 13th seed Holger Rune.
Alex de Minaur has turned the tables on his US Open conqueror Jack Draper, battling back for a victory in the Paris Masters that propels him to the verge of becoming the Australian in 20 years to make the ATP Finals.
De Minaur's 5-7 6-2 6-3 victory at the Palais Omnisports on Thursday not only booked the Sydneysider a place in the quarterfinals, it also took him, provisionally, into the eighth and final spot in the race to make the end-of-season championship in Turin.
The field won't be confirmed until after next week's final qualifying tournaments in Belgrade — where de Minaur will be top seed — and Moselle, but the 25-year-old is now in an ideal spot to be the first Aussie since his Davis Cup captain Lleyton Hewitt in 2004 to compete in the 'fifth slam'.
It ended a stirring day for Australian men's tennis with 30-year-old Jordan Thompson reaching the last-eight of a Masters 1000 event for the first time in his late-blooming career with a 7-5 7-6 (7-5) win over French veteran Adrian Mannarino.
Looking drained and emotional at courtside in Bercy afterwards, de Minaur still wasn't taking his Turin place as read.
"You can never say 'job done' in the middle of a tournament, that's not in my DNA," the ninth seed said.
"Obviously I'm super-stoked with the win, but I will keep on doing my best, keep on trying to win more matches.
"It took every ounce from me and I am just happy I was able to rally. I'm going to put my body on the line, try my hardest, show my opponent that I can do that all day."
Jack Draper could not repeat his US Open victory over Australia's number one.
It will go down as one of 'Demon's' best wins after world number 15 Draper, on a seven-match win streak after his Vienna Open triumph, threatened to overpower him and repeat his Flushing Meadows victory.
Draper blitzed 5-2 ahead in the opener, including a run of 14 straight winning points, before de Minaur began to find his range, and though the Australian still lost the opening set, he increasingly defused the Briton's power while starting to dictate most of the rallies.
Producing the compelling, relentless fare that marked the first half of his season before his hip injury at Wimbledon sent him rudely off course, de Minaur ran the legs out of the big man.
The world number 10 reduced the 22-year-old Briton to smashing his racquet in frustration after breaking Draper's serve at the start of the decider, and he went on to chalk up his 47th win of 2024, equalling his best ever season.
De Minaur will hope to add more points to his 'Race to Turin' tally by beating Holger Rune in the quarters.
Thompson, meanwhile, also continued with what has been the best season of his career, reaching a ninth quarterfinal of the campaign.
Jordan Thompson has reached the quarterfinals of an ATP Masters 1000 event for the first time.
After a 2024 campaign in which he won his first ATP singles crown in Los Cabos and a maiden grand slam doubles title at the US Open, the Sydneysider is now in uncharted territory in Bercy, with a quarterfinal date against French number 15 seed Ugo Humbert, who beat Carlos Alcaraz in three sets in the evening session.
Both players struggled to generate pace and were prone to errors in a tough contest — particularly Mannarino, who made 44 unforced mistakes.
Thompson took advantage of one awful service game at the end of the first set, breaking him to love and, although he felt like he began to "lose it a little bit" in the second set, as Mannarino broke him at 5-5 and and proceeded to earn two set points in his next game, he held on to win the tie break for a straight-sets victory.
"It's what we've been working towards, these big results at big tournaments," Thompson, who appears set to improve on his current career-high world ranking of 28, said.
On a day featuring three Aussies in the last-16 at a Masters 1000 for the first time in 24 years, the one disappointment was Alexei Popyrin.
Following his shock win over Daniil Medvedev on Wednesday, Popyrin fell 7-6 (7-5) 6-4 to another Russian, in-form Karen Khachanov.
Also in the last-eight, Alexander Zverev, who beat star home prospect Arthur Fils 6-4 3-6 6-3, will face Greek ace Stefanos Tsitsipas, who is also still in the hunt for a Finals place after beating Francisco Cerundolo 6-7 (1-7) 6-4 6-2.
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