Taylor Fritz delivered a clinical display to keep alive his Nitto ATP Finals qualification hopes on Monday at the Rolex Paris Masters.
The ninth-seeded American wrapped a 6-1, 6-4 first-round triumph against Sebastian Baez at the ATP Masters 1000 event in the French capital. Fritz converted all three break points he earned to improve to 54-23 for the season and set a second-round meeting with #NextGenATP home favourite Arthur Fils or Daniel Altmaier.
“I’m pretty happy, especially with how the match started in the first set,” said Fritz, whose best Paris result is a quarter-final run in 2021. “I got an early break of serve in the second and luckily I was just able to hold on serve and finish it up.”
Moving on 👏@Taylor_Fritz97 knocks out Baez 6-1 6-4 to advance to R2 in Paris!
@RolexPMasters | #RolexParisMasters pic.twitter.com/oqGBDp0kaf
— ATP Tour (@atptour) October 30, 2023
However, it was not all plain sailing on Monday for Fritz, who received treatment from the physio mid-way through the second set on his left abdomen. The 25-year-old spoke candidly after the match about the issue and he will hope it is nothing too serious as he next looks to move past Fils or Altmaier to set a potential third-round showdown with his Pepperstone ATP Live Race To Turin rival Holger Rune.
“It’s something that’s been bothering me for a little bit… I didn’t think it was anything too bad going in [to this match], but one where I slid out and sliced that forehand, I felt like I did something that I had never done to it before,” said Fritz. “Like maybe I tore something or pulled it. So I’m going to have to get it checked out and see what’s going on.”
With Monday’s win, Fritz moved above Hubert Hurkacz into ninth in the Pepperstone ATP Live Race To Turin. He is currently 190 points behind the defending Paris champion Rune as he chases a second straight appearance at the season-ending Nitto ATP Finals.
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Fritz’s countryman Tommy Paul also advanced to the second round on Monday but only after fending off three match points during a dramatic late charge from home favourite Richard Gasquet.
Paul prevailed 0-6, 6-2, 7-6(6) against Gasquet after turning around the deciding-set tie-break amid a raucous atmosphere in Accor Arena. The American had appeared set for a relatively comfortable win after shaking off a nightmare first set to lead 0-6, 6-2, 5-2. Gasquet raised his level to spectacular effect from there, however, producing some dazzling shotmaking to roar back and force a tie-break.
Gasquet rode that momentum to a 6/3 lead in the breaker but the 37-year-old was unable to complete the job and Paul reeled off the final five points of the match for a thrilling two-hour, seven-minute triumph. He will next take on qualifier Botic van de Zandschulp, who also tasted victory against a home favourite by beating Adrian Mannarino 6-4, 7-5.
With his win on Monday, Paul retained his slim hopes of reaching the Nitto ATP Finals for the first time. The 26-year-old is 12th in the Pepperstone ATP Live Race To Turin, 625 points adrift of Rune in eighth.
Former Paris champion Karen Khachanov and Grigor Dimitrov also booked their second-round spots on Monday. The 16th-seeded Khachanov, who won his only Masters 1000 crown in Bercy in 2018, beat Max Purcell 6-4, 6-4. He will next play Laslo Djere, who held off #NextGenATP Frenchman Luca Van Assche for a 6-7(6), 6-4, 6-4 victory.
Dimitrov backed up his first-round win against Lorenzo Musetti in Vienna last week by posting another victory against the Italian in his Paris opener. The Bulgarian won 6-2, 6-7(4), 6-3 to advance to face Daniil Medvedev. The World No. 3 was also Dimitrov’s second-round opponent in Vienna, where Medvedev sealed a three-set victory.