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Wesley Koolhof and Nikola Mektic continued the quest for their fifth title of the season and third at ATP Masters 1000 level together on Friday at the Rolex Paris Masters where they defeated third seeds Rohan Bopanna and Matthew Ebden 7-6(13), 7-5.

The sixth seeds saved four set points in an epic opening set before they fended off all five break points they faced in the second set, according to Infosys ATP Stats, en route to a one-hour, 47-minute quarter-final triumph.

Koolhof and Mektic have won Masters 1000 titles in Indian Wells and Shanghai this year and will compete at the Nitto ATP Finals, to be held from 10-17 November. The Dutch-Croatian team will play Neal Skupski and Michael Venus in the semi-finals in Paris.

The British-New-Zealand pair defeated Ariel Behar and Robert Galloway 6-4, 6-2 in 63 minutes. Skupski and Venus reached the final in Vienna last week and beat top seeds Marcel Granollers and Horacio Zeballos in straight sets in Paris.

Lloyd Glasspool and Adam Pavlasek were also winners on Friday. They downed Frenchmen Sadio Doumbia and Fabien Reboul 7-6(5), 6-4. Glasspool and Pavlasek will next take on US Open titlists Max Purcell and Jordan Thompson, who avenged their heartbreaking Wimbledon final loss to Harri Heliovaara and Henry Patten 6-7(3), 6-1, 12-10.

Former Rolex Paris Masters champion Holger Rune kept alive his slim hopes of qualifying for the Nitto ATP Finals on Friday when he overcame Alex de Minaur in a dramatic quarter-final in the French capital.

In a baseline battle in Paris, Rune outlasted De Minaur down the home stretch to earn a dramatic 6-4, 4-6, 7-5 victory. The Dane locked in during the extended exchanges and recovered from squandering a break advantage in the third set to reach his fifth ATP Masters 1000 semi-final.

"He was putting so much up against me. He was making every ball with quality, deep in the court and the court is quite fast here," Rune said. "I had to adjust my game a little bit and it was a constant battle but how I treated the last couple of games was very good. I went for it, I got it and I am very happy."

HOLGER ❤️ PARIS.

2022 champion @holgerrune2003 is through to his 5th ATP Masters 1000 semi-final!#RolexParisMasters | @RolexPMasters pic.twitter.com/xWeNuMM7OU

The 21-year-old beat Novak Djokovic to win his maiden Masters 1000 crown in Paris in 2022 and is 12-1 at the indoor hard event. Rune is 13th in the PIF ATP Live Race To Turin on 3,025 points and can still qualify for the Nitto ATP Finals. Eighth-placed De Minaur (3,745 points) currently occupies the final Nitto ATP Finals qualification spot and is aiming to make his debut in Turin.

Practicing court awareness is crucial in tennis because it helps you make smarter shot choices and optimize your positioning. Here's how to build that awareness: 1. Know Your Position on the CourtAfter each shot, aim to return to a neutral position based on where you hit the ball and where your opponent is likely to respond. If you hit a cross-cour...

Alexander Zverev became just the third active player to reach 20 ATP Masters 1000 semi-finals on Friday at the Rolex Paris Masters, where he overcame Stefanos Tsitsipas to end the Greek’s Nitto ATP Finals hopes.

In the latest meeting of his long-running rivalry with Tsitsipas, Zverev saved the one break point he faced and hit with aggression and purpose in the fast indoor conditions to earn a 7-5, 6-4 win after one hour and 44 minutes in the French capital.

"I thought the whole match was a very good level from him," Zverev said. "He started off hot, had some good chances to break me in the beginning. Maybe not break point wise but game wise. I got into the match and I found my rhythm and felt more and more comfortable and am happy with the win."

Zverev, who joins Novak Djokovic (78) and Rafael Nadal (76) as a 20-time Masters 1000 semi-finalist, also became the first player born in the 1990s to earn 100 Top 20 wins (100-101). The 28-year-old Daniil Medvedev, born in 1996, is second, holding a 99-73 record.

Milestone Sascha ? 2⃣0⃣ ?@AlexZverev becomes the 8th player to reach 20 ATP Masters 1000 semi-finals in series history, defeating Tsitsipas 7-5 6-4! #RolexParisMasters | @RolexPMasters pic.twitter.com/IR2V4r2Dk7

A four-time champion at Spanish ATP Tour events, Carlos Alcaraz knows all about raising his level for a home crowd. On Thursday at the Rolex Paris Masters, the No. 2 in the PIF ATP Rankings recognised he may have been on the receiving end of that trend from Ugo Humbert.

“I think I could play better. I think that's obvious. But with the level that I had today, I think I compete, I gave everything,” Alcaraz said in his post-match press conference after his three-set defeat to the inspired Frenchman in Paris. “I fought until the last point. I have to congratulate Ugo. I think his performance has been really high. The way he hits the ball is unbelievable. It's amazing.

“I think every time that he plays against me, I feel like he increases his level. He plays a really high level of tennis. I think in Paris even more so. So congratulations to him, and good luck.”

Alcaraz acknowledged that, although he generally does not favour fast conditions like those at Paris-Bercy this year, they don’t mean much without an opponent who can exploit them. Humbert produced a performance packed with clean, flat hitting that had the World No. 2 struggling from the first game.

“[It is difficult] when I play against someone like Ugo that doesn't let you get rhythm into the match,” said Alcaraz, who will next compete at the Nitto ATP Finals in Turin. “He plays probably every time at his 100 per cent, really flat. So I couldn't play a good tennis.

Editor's Note: This story was originally published on 12 April 2024. At the 2024 Rolex Paris Masters, Frenchman Ugo Humbert thrilled his home crowd with a memorable upset win against Carlos Alcaraz. 

The top of the PIF ATP Live Race To Turin is littered with the sport’s biggest stars. Of the eight players currently holding a qualification position for the Nitto ATP Finals, seven have competed in the season finale and the other, fifth-placed Alex de Minaur, is in the world’s Top 10.

The player in ninth place is Rolex Monte-Carlo Masters quarter-finalist Ugo Humbert. The Frenchman, very much in contention for a spot in Turin, has quietly been playing the best tennis of his career and is even ahead of 12th-placed Novak Djokovic in the Live Race.

“I saw that and it was really, really funny. At the end of Dubai, my coach said ‘It's funny, you are seventh in the race and Djokovic is eighth’. I was proud!” Humbert told ATPTour.com. “For me it's more and more exciting because my goal is that I would like to reach the Top 10. So I am trying to find the details to achieve this goal.”

So far this season Humbert has won titles in Marseille and Dubai. The lefty’s record is 18-5 and he has only lost two matches in straight sets.

Could Stefanos Tsitsipas’ hard-fought win on Thursday at the Rolex Paris Masters prove pivotal in his quest to qualify for his sixth consecutive Nitto ATP Finals?

The 10th seed dug deep for a 6-7(1), 6-4, 6-2 triumph against Francisco Cerundolo to advance to his fourth quarter-final in Paris. With the victory, Tsitsipas climbed to 11th in the PIF ATP Live Race To Turin, but he will need a run to the final to stay in contention.

The former No. 3 in the PIF ATP Rankings crossed the line with conviction to progress in two hours, 21 minutes. It was Tsitsipas' second Lexus ATP Head2Head win over Cerundolo in as many weeks after he defeated the Argentine in their first-round clash in Basel.

Doing it the hard way ?@steftsitsipas rallies from a set down to defeat Cerundolo 6-7(1) 6-4 6-2 and reach the quarter-final in Paris for the fourth time!#RolexParisMasters | @RolexPMasters pic.twitter.com/HguSKLhMQF

Cerundolo, who recorded his 100th tour-level win on Tuesday, failed to convert all three of the break points he created in the opening set, according to Infosys ATP Stats. However, he produced a steely tie-break to move in front.

An inspired Ugo Humbert rode a raucous atmosphere and inspired shotmaking to a stunning third-round upset of Carlos Alcaraz on Thursday at the Rolex Paris Masters.

The home favourite prevailed 6-1, 3-6, 7-5 in a richly entertaining encounter to book a quarter-final spot at his home ATP Masters 1000. Humbert won the first five games of the match in a blistering start on Court Central, before his resolve was tested as Alcaraz grew into the occasion. Yet the Spaniard could not deny Humbert at the tail end of a tense deciding set, when the home favourite rediscovered his shotmaking touch in time to clinch his win.

“I’m just super proud of myself that I did it,” said Humbert. “It was a crazy match, a crazy atmosphere. Maybe my last in Bercy [before the tournament moves to a new venue from next year], so I tried to do everything tonight. It was a really big match.”

ALL HEART FROM UGO HUMBERT!!! ❤️??#RolexParisMasters | @RolexPMasters pic.twitter.com/lrE4ZOofmx

Humbert’s two-hour, 17-minute win was the joint-biggest of his career by PIF ATP Ranking, equalling his victory against then-No. 2 Daniil Medvedev at the 2022 ATP Cup. The lefty, who is chasing his third ATP Tour title of the season this week after his victories in Marseille and Dubai, is the first Frenchman to earn a Top 3 win at Paris-Bercy since 2010, when Gael Monfils defeated No. 2 Roger Federer and Michael Llodra ousted No. 3 Novak Djokovic.

Alex de Minaur’s late charge to qualify for his maiden appearance at the Nitto ATP Finals is picking up serious pace at the Rolex Paris Masters.

The ninth seed rallied to defeat Jack Draper 5-7, 6-2, 6-3 on Thursday, snapping the Briton’s seven-match winning streak. With the triumph, De Minaur climbed inside the qualification spots in the PIF ATP Live Race To Turin, passing Andrey Rublev to eighth.

“You can never say ‘job done’ in the middle of a tournament, that’s not in my DNA,” De Minaur said, when asked about the Live Race. “Obviously I’m super stoked with the win today, but I will keep on doing my best and 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. I needed to bring that intensity because Jack is a hell of a competitor, playing with so much confidence right now.”

Now that's dead-ication ??@alexdeminaur equals his personal-best 47th win of the season! #RolexParisMasters | @RolexPMasters pic.twitter.com/mVDWpDwmnH

Alexander Zverev ended the run of French star Arthur Fils in front of an electric crowd at the Rolex Paris Masters on Thursday afternoon.

Backed by raucous home support on Court Central, Fils produced an intense performance and troubled the German with his dynamic game in an epic clash. However, with the pressure on, the 20-year-old ran out of steam in the decider, with World No. 3 Zverev earning a 6-4, 3-6, 6-3 third-round victory in the French capital.

"I am happy I hung in there today. It was a great match," Zverev said after improving to 3-1 in his Lexus ATP Head2Head series against Fils. "He is a great player and has improved a lot this year. I am looking forward to the next few battles we are going to have."

Zverev fired 16 aces and crucially saved three break points when serving for the match at 5-3. The German, who gained the decisive break of the third set in the fourth game, raised his arms aloft after sealing victory, silencing Fils and the French crowd in the process.

"The atmosphere here is a lot louder than at Roland Garros. It is crazy," Zverev said. "It feels the court is smaller and the crowd is on top of you. It is like an indoor atmosphere as well. It is something we don't get a lot on Tour but I love it. I love to play in Paris. It is one of my favourite cities in the world to play because of the crowd. They are very energetic and very loud."

On a day of doubles upsets at the Rolex Paris Masters, top seeds Marcel Granollers and Horacio Zeballos and second seeds Marcelo Arevalo and Mate Pavic both fell in the second round.

In early action on Thursday, Frenchmen Sadio Doumbia and Fabien Reboul moved past Arevalo and Pavic 7-6(5), 7-6(3) to reach the quarter-finals at the ATP Masters 1000 event.

Competing on home soil, Doumbia and Reboul saved the one break point they faced and won 87 per cent (45/42) of their first-serve points according to Infosys ATP Stats to advance in front of a jubilant crowd after one hour and 43 minutes.

The Frenchmen are chasing their fourth tour-level title of the season and will next play Lloyd Glasspool and Adam Pavlasek after the British-Czech team downed fifth seeds Simone Bolelli and Andrea Vavassori 6-4, 6-4.

Neal Skupski and Michael Venus then shocked Granollers and Zeballos 6-4, 7-6(6). Skupski and Venus arrived in Paris off the back of a final run in Vienna and will take on Ariel Behar and Robert Galloway in the last eight. Behar and Galloway defeated Hugo Nys and Jan Zielinski 4-6, 7-6(2), 10-5.

Coleman Wong made history earlier this season when he became the first player from Hong Kong since 1972 to win an ATP main draw match. The 20-year-old advanced to the second round at the ATP 250 in Hangzhou, gaining precious points in his quest to compete at the Next Gen ATP Finals presented by PIF.

Currently ninth in the PIF ATP Live Race To Jeddah, Wong will aim to finish the season strong and follow in the footsteps of previous champions who have competed at the 20-and-under event.

As part of our Next Gen Influences series, Wong caught up with ATPTour.com to talk about his first meeting with Carlos Alcaraz, his admiration for Jannik Sinner and his Jeddah goals.

Which former Next Gen ATP Finals presented by PIF champion did you enjoy watching most when growing up?
I enjoyed watching Carlos Alcaraz the most. I like watching Alcaraz play because of his game and his footwork. That [is how] I want to be in the future.

Who out of the former champions is your biggest idol and do you remember your first encounter with them?
I think it would be Carlos because I remember playing him at the junior Davis Cup when we were young. It was the first ever clay match of my life and I was facing Carlos, [who won]. It was quite an experience.

Arthur Fils and Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard transferred some of their recent singles form to the doubles court on Wednesday at the Rolex Paris Masters.

The wild card duo downed Jamie Murray and John Peers 7-5, 7-6(6) in a tight first-round clash at the indoor ATP Masters 1000 event. Fils, who has won 10 of his past 12 singles matches, and last week’s Basel champion Mpetshi Perricard hit 11 aces, according to Infosys ATP Stats, en route to victory in their ATP Tour team debut.

The 79-minute win was Fils’ second victory of the day in Paris, where he earlier claimed a singles triumph against Jan-Lennard Struff. Mpetshi Perricard fell in the singles to Karen Khachanov, but picked himself up to claim just the second tour-level doubles match win of his career. Awaiting Fils and Mpetshi Perricard in the second round will be sixth seeds Wesley Koolhof and Nikola Mektic.

Also on Wednesday, Neal Skupski and Michael Venus bounced back from the disappointment of Vienna championship-match defeat with a 6-1, 6-0 victory against Jean-Julien Rojer and Joe Salisbury. Their next assignment in Paris is an encounter with the second-placed pair in the PIF ATP Live Doubles Teams Rankings, Marcel Granollers and Horacio Zeballos.

Santiago Gonzalez and Edouard Roger-Vasselin were also first-round winners in the French capital. The Mexican-French duo overcame Argentines Francisco Cerundolo and Tomas Martin Etcheverry 6-2, 5-7, 10-5. Gonzalez and Roger-Vasselin now lead the two teams' Lexus ATP Head2Head series 2-0.

With his Wednesday win at the Rolex Paris Masters, Alexander Zverev became the fourth player to reach the last 16 at all nine ATP Masters 1000s in one season in series history. The third seed hit the milestone with a 7-6(2), 6-3 victory against Tallon Griekspoor in his opening match, his fifth consecutive Lexus ATP Head2Head win against the Dutchman and his fourth this season.

Zverev, who won his sixth ATP Masters 1000 title in Rome this May, is now 19-1 in opening matches on the year. The German fought off a break point in each of his first two service games against Griekspoor, and later fought off a set point on serve at 4-5, but hit his stride from there to pull away. Beginning with that set-point save, he won 16 straight points on serve to close out the opening set and start fast in the second.

"The last few matches that we played always went the distance, 7-6 in the fifth [at Roland Garros], 7-6 in the third [in Shanghai] as well," said Zverev, who has won six tie-breaks in his past five matches against Dutchman. "So I'm happy that it didn't go that far today. I felt for the first match it was pretty good from my end.

"Very fast court. I think one of the fastest courts I've ever played on. I had to find my rhythm in the beginning but happy to come through in the end," said the German, who will hope for more success in similar indoor conditions at the Nitto ATP Finals next month. "Once I find my rhythm I love fast courts because it fits my game."

Players to reach R16 at all 9 Masters 1000s

Arthur Fils is tapping into the currents in front of his home crowd at the Rolex Paris Masters.

The 20-year-old did not blink in a 6-3, 6-4 win over Jan-Lennard Struff on Wednesday to book his spot in the last-16 at an ATP Masters 1000 for the first time. Fils was clinical under pressure throughout the match, saving all break points faced, according to Infosys ATP Stats.

“I have practiced a lot to reach this level,” said Fils, who improved to 9-1 vs. Top 50 players since September. "I spend a lot of time on court, in the fitness room. We work so hard to manage to get a high level of play throughout a match. From a physical point of view, I need to have a high level, as well.

"It pays off. Even if it's the last tournament of the year. I'm tired, but this is where I feel best and I have to carry on like this."

Fils firing ?

Arthur Fils's recent run of form continues ?

The FH has always been big, but now he is landing it ?#TennisInsights | @atptour | @RolexPMasters pic.twitter.com/fGhdfNckgp

Millions of children (and some parents!) across the globe will head ‘trick-or-treating’ on Thursday evening to celebrate Halloween. Hopefully they will have more luck than Matteo Berrettini did when the ATP Tour star was out hunting for candy as a child in his hometown of Rome.

“I lived in [an area] where it was safe for kids to go around and just bother people,” the Italian recalled to ATPTour.com. “One funny story. We had a bag full of candy and stuff, and we rang at a door. A lady opened it, and we said, ‘Trick or treat?’ She didn’t say anything, she just took something from our bag and closed the door. I don’t think she understood, it wasn’t us giving to her, but we were shocked.”

Berrettini remembers dressing up once as a ninja, and another time as a vampire in his bid to secure sweet treats from his neighbours. For the Italian’s ATP Tour rival Grigor Dimitrov, there was only ever one costume at the front of his mind.

“I grew up in the States. I think we were in California. I dressed as Batman, I’ve always liked Batman," said the Bulgarian. "I grew up in a very small town, only 2,000 people, so we had trick-or-treat and we could almost have literally gone to every door. I remember it well, it was a lot of fun.”

It’s spooky SZN, so you just know we had to get involved… ? pic.twitter.com/JubO6PAmP5

Being patient and playing smart are crucial aspects of success in pickleball. Here are some strategies to help you embody this mindset during your games: 1. Wait for the Right ShotAvoid Hasty Decisions: Resist the urge to hit the ball aggressively every time. Focus on waiting for a shot that you can confidently place where you want it. This often m...

Football icon Diego Forlan was living a teenage dream in 1993 when he had the opportunity of a lifetime to play doubles with Argentine legend Diego Maradona. It was in the early stages of Forlan’s youth career, long before he became a superstar in his home country Uruguay and beyond.

More than 30 years later, that day remains a cherished memory for Forlan. He remembers that friendly match happened on Court No. 10 at the Carrasco Lawn Tennis Club in Montevideo. It is only fitting that the man who wore number 10 for Uruguay throughout his career will now compete at that same club during the Uruguay Open, an ATP Challenger Tour 100 event, which runs from 11-17 November.

“Imagine for me, to have the opportunity to be around [Maradona] and then the opportunity to play football and tennis — it was unbelievable,” Forlan recalled to a group of reporters. “We played football and we played doubles in tennis. We had a really good relationship. He was very competitive. It was a nice game.”

At the Uruguay Open, the 45-year-old Forlan will be playing doubles with an Argentine. Sound familiar? This time it will be Federico Coria, World No. 104 in the PIF ATP Rankings.

Forlan and Coria have met just once, but this entertaining doubles pairing, which has captured the attention of football and tennis fans, is in part thanks to Uruguayan tennis player Ignacio Carou.