Paris Masters: Halys saves four match points to stun Tiafoe, Zverev knocked out
The Frenchman, ranked 46th in the world, beat the American 6-3, 1-6, 7-6 (9), sending Arthur Fils to the ATP Finals in Turin in the process. Rinderknech and Van Assche also go through, while world number one Alexander Zverev falls at the first hurdle.
Updated Thursday at 1.10pm: Quentin Halys was knocked out by Tommy Paul in the last 16. See the latest results.
He was within a whisker of the exit. Quentin Halys beat Frances Tiafoe 6-3, 1-6, 7-6 (9) on Wednesday 4 November in the second round of the Rolex Paris Masters. The Frenchman, ranked 46th in the world, saved four match points against the world number 8, seeded seventh, in just under two hours.
A breathless tie-break
It had all started well: Halys led 4-0 after 11 minutes and took the first set 6-3. Tiafoe hit back 6-1, then broke the Frenchman's serve at the start of the final set. At 5-3, the American served for the match. Halys broke back and took it to a tie-break.
Trailing after having led by three points, he saved four match points, one of them with an ace, according to Univers Tennis. He closed it out 11-9 with a serve-and-volley.
At 30, he records his second win over a top-10 player, after Andrey Rublev in Dubai in 2025, and his highest-ranked victory. He will face Tommy Paul on Thursday in the last 16. A win would send him into a Masters 1000 quarter-final for the first time, Univers Tennis notes.
Fils qualifies for Turin without playing
The result goes beyond Halys. Tiafoe was still in the race for the ATP Finals: his elimination guarantees Arthur Fils a place at the Turin Masters, from 15 to 22 November, even before his match on Wednesday evening against Tomas Machac, scheduled for no earlier than 8.30pm.
A French day, two favourites out
The French have other reasons to smile. Arthur Rinderknech beat Mattia Bellucci 6-4, 6-1 and will face Ben Shelton, the third seed, in the last 16. Luca Van Assche, ranked 47th, beat Learner Tien, ranked 19th, 7-6 (4), 6-4, a week after losing heavily to him in Vienna, We Love Tennis recalls.
The draw is already losing big names. Alexander Zverev, described by TennisActu as the new world number one, was knocked out in his opening match by Lorenzo Musetti, 7-6 (5), 6-2. Daniil Medvedev, the fourth seed, lost 6-4, 6-4 to Ignacio Buse.
What next?
Several matches were still to be completed or played in the late afternoon: Novak Djokovic against Rinky Hijikata, which was still in the third set when we checked, Ugo Humbert against Matteo Berrettini, Carlos Alcaraz against Alex Michelsen, and Arthur Fils against Tomas Machac. The last-16 matches take place on Thursday, and the final on Sunday 8 November.
