- World No. 5 and No. 6 Daniil Medvedev and Taylor Fritz joined the ranks of the top 10 members who fell out of the Paris Masters 1000 on Wednesday, like Andrey Rublev (7th ) and Casper Ruud (8th ) the day before.
- In the evening, world number 3 Alexander Zverev made a successful entry into the competition by beating the Dutchman Tallon Griekspoor (39th ) 7-6 (7-2), 6-3, not without saving a first set point (at 5-4).
- Titled in 2020 at Bercy, Medvedev fell 6-4, 2-6, 7-6 (7/4) against the Australian Alexei Popyrin (24th ) after a little over two and a half hours of face-to-face.
- Fritz, a finalist at the US Open in September, lost to the young Briton Jack Draper (15th ) 7-6 (8/6), 4-6, 6-4, in a match that was barely shorter.
- But unlike Ruud and Rublev, currently seventh and eighth in the Race, the ranking that determines the qualifiers for the year-end Masters, they are two of the five players already qualified for the Turin event (November 10-17) which brings together the eight best players of the season.
- Ruud and Rublev – like Novak Djokovic, absent from Bercy this year – remain under threat from a handful of pursuers, who can still claim one of the last three tickets to be distributed. At the top, the Australian Alex de Minaur and the Bulgarian Grigor Dimitrov, who have kept their chances alive by reaching the round of 16.
- The first one eliminated the Serbian Miomir Kecmanovic (55th ) 6-4, 7-6 (7/5). The second one overturned the Argentinian Tomas Etcheverry (40th ) 6-7 (9/11), 6-3, 7-5.
- “It was a difficult match. I could have played much better but I had my chances and I didn’t take them,” Medvedev regretted.
- Coming back from a 4-2 deficit in the third set, then from a 4-1 deficit in the deciding game, Medvedev finally cracked by committing a double fault that gave Popyrin two match points. The Australian converted the first to win in just over two and a half hours.
- Popyrin, who won his first Masters 1000 title in Canada this summer and beat Novak Djokovic at the US Open in the process, will face Russian Karen Khachanov (21st ) in the round of 16.
- “This is the first time I have beaten him and it is a real pleasure to have achieved this feat this time,” rejoiced Popyrin.
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