Alex de Minaur is showing no signs of backing down in the fight to qualify for his maiden appearance at the Nitto ATP Finals.

The ninth seed finished with a flourish on Tuesday to defeat Mariano Navone 7-5, 6-1 and advance to the second round of the Rolex Paris Masters. After a nervy end to the opening set, De Minaur pulled clear in a near-flawless second to seal an 89-minute victory.

Smooth sailing for Demon ⛵️

No. 9 seed @alexdeminaur will face lucky loser Kecmanovic in the second round in Bercy.#RolexParisMasters | @RolexPMasters pic.twitter.com/mM8WvmG2i4

— ATP Tour (@atptour) October 29, 2024

De Minaur’s standout season, during which he has won two ATP Tour titles and surged to a career-high of No. 6 in the PIF ATP Rankings, could culminate in a debut appearance at the season-ending finale.

The Australian, who is currently ninth in the PIF ATP Live Race To Turin, has moved to within 125 points of eighth-placed Andrey Rublev with his opening-round win in Paris. De Minaur, who will surpass Rublev with a run to the quarter-finals, will next face lucky loser Miomir Kecmanovic. 

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Earlier, Francisco Cerundolo racked up a century of tour-level wins in style as he upset sixth seed Rublev to reach to the third round at the indoor ATP Masters 1000 for a second successive year.

In a pendulum-swinging battle, the Argentine rallied from a break deficit in both sets to prevail 7-6(6), 7-6(5), improving to a 3-1 lead in the pair’s Lexus ATP Head2Head series.

The defeat is a setback in Rublev’s quest to qualify for the Nitto ATP Finals for a fifth consecutive year. Rublev will be unable to amass further points at this week's ATP Masters 1000 event. Meanwhile, fellow Turin hopefuls De Minaur (ninth), Grigor Dimitrov (10th) and Stefanos Tsitsipas (12th) are all still alive in Paris.  

Big stage for a BIG milestone 👏🏟️@FranCerundolo brings up a century of tour-level wins by knocking out No. 6 seed Rublev, 7-6(6) 7-6(5)!#RolexParisMasters | @RolexPMasters pic.twitter.com/VFvTk3wmIm

— ATP Tour (@atptour) October 29, 2024 

Cerundolo’s attacking prowess was on full display in his two-hour, 18-minute triumph. The 26-year-old struck 35 winners and won 86 per cent (6/7) of points at the net, according to Infosys ATP Stats.

With the triumph, Cerundolo registered his fourth win in seven matches against a Top 10 opponent in 2024. The No. 29 in the PIF ATP Rankings will next face World No. 11 Tsitsipas for a place in the quarter-finals.

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