Zverev passes Fils test in Paris epic

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."

That was GUTSY ?

No. 3 seed @AlexZverev is through to his 31st Masters 1000 quarter-final by edging past home hope Fils in an enthralling clash! #RolexParisMasters | @RolexPMasters pic.twitter.com/R2PF71toBg

Into his 31st ATP Masters 1000 quarter-final and sixth in 2024, Zverev will look to continue his run when he meets Nitto ATP Finals hopeful Stefanos Tsitsipas in the last eight. Tsitsipas, who is 11th in the PIF ATP Live Race To Turin, leads Zverev 10-5 in the pair’s Lexus ATP Head2Head series.

Zverev is 63-20 on the season, highlighted by his title at the Masters 1000 event in Rome. The 27-year-old, who reached the final in Paris in 2020, will finish his season next month at the Nitto ATP Finals, to be held from 10-17 November.

The 20-year-old Fils was competing in the third round at a Masters 1000 tournament for the first time. The dynamic Frenchman, who is first in the PIF ATP Live Race To Jeddah, earned wins against Marin Cilic and Jan-Lennard Struff earlier this week. However, the Hamburg and Tokyo champion was unable to find a way past Zverev, who held firm when serving out to seal victory after two hours and eight minutes.

In other action, Karen Khachanov moved past Alexei Popyrin 7-6(5), 6-4. Khachanov has fond memories in Paris, having lifted his only Masters 1000 trophy at the hard-court event in 2018. The World No. 21 will next meet Grigor Dimitrov or Arthur Rinderknech.

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