Jannik Sinner eased into the quarter-finals of the Paris Masters on Thursday with a composed 7-5, 6-1 victory over Argentina’s Francisco Cerundolo, keeping alive his push to reclaim the world number one ranking.
A title win in Paris would see Sinner return to the top spot after current world No.1 Carlos Alcaraz suffered a shock exit earlier in the tournament to Britain’s Cameron Norrie.
Sinner, a four-time Grand Slam champion, is yet to drop a set in this year’s tournament and is chasing his fifth ATP title of the season.
“Today I felt the first set was very crucial. Francisco is a very talented player, very difficult to play against,” Sinner said in his post-match interview.
“In the second set, I raised the level and I’m very happy to be in the quarter-finals here for the first time.”
Sinner will next face American Ben Shelton, who continued his impressive season by defeating Russia’s Andrey Rublev 7-6 (8/6), 6-3. The win also confirmed Shelton’s debut qualification for the ATP Finals in Turin.
“It’s an accumulation of a year’s work — ups, downs, great results, poor results and bouncing back,” Shelton said.
Meanwhile, defending champion Alexander Zverev progressed with a 6-2, 6-4 win over Spain’s Alejandro Davidovich Fokina. The German will next renew his rivalry with former world number one Daniil Medvedev, who edged past Lorenzo Sonego in three sets.
“Daniil is somebody that I know extremely well and he beats me most of the time. He’s a bit like my kryptonite,” Zverev admitted.
Elsewhere, Kazakhstan’s Alexander Bublik defeated fourth seed Taylor Fritz 7-6 (7/5), 6-2 to set up a quarter-final meeting with Alex de Minaur. Despite his strong form, Bublik said winning the title would be “a miracle.”
Canada’s Felix Auger-Aliassime also kept his ATP Finals hopes alive after coming from behind to beat Germany’s Daniel Altmaier 3-6, 6-3, 6-2. He remains in contention for the final qualification spot, currently held by Italy’s Lorenzo Musetti.
But before thinking ahead, Auger-Aliassime will have to overcome the in-form Valentin Vacherot of Monaco, the Shanghai Masters champion, who continued his stunning rise by defeating Cameron Norrie in straight sets earlier in the day.
