Jannik Sinner on Thursday eased past Francisco Cerundolo 7-5, 6-1 at the Paris Masters to set up a quarter-final clash with Ben Shelton, while reigning champion Alexander Zverev earned a straight-sets win over Alejandro Davidovich Fokina in the third round.
A maiden crown in the French capital would return Sinner to No. 1 in the world rankings after current incumbent Carlos Alcaraz suffered a shock early exit at the hands of Britain’s Cameron Norrie.
The Italian four-time Grand Slam champion is yet to drop a set in the tournament as he hones in on what would be a fifth title of the season.
Photo: EPA
“Today I felt like the first set was very crucial. Francisco is a very talented player, it’s very difficult to play against him because his level is very high,” Sinner said. “In the second set I raised the level ... and I’m very happy to be in the quarter-finals here for the first time.”
Sinner edged a close first set, which featured four consecutive breaks, when he pounced on 21st-ranked Argentine Cerundolo’s serve at 6-5 to seize the initiative.
The 24-year-old then immediately stepped it up in the second set, racing into a 5-1 lead before serving out to book a meeting with US fifth seed Shelton in the quarter-finals.
Shelton beat Russia’s Andrey Rublev 7-6 (8/6), 6-3 to reach the last eight.
The victory marked another landmark moment for the 23-year-old this season — following on from his first ATP 1000-level title, won in Toronto this summer — as he would now make his debut appearance at the ATP Finals in Turin, Italy.
“It’s an accumulation of a year’s work, a lot of ups and downs, great results, poor results and having to bounce back,” Shelton said of reaching the season-ending event.
Zverev continued his title defense with a 6-2, 6-4 win over Spanish 15th seed Davidovich Fokina in the day’s final matchup.
The German third seed was next to meet an old foe in former world No. 1 Daniil Medvedev, who fought past Lorenzo Sonego of Italy in three sets.
Zverev and Medvedev have met twice before in the Paris Masters, with the now-11th seeded Russian winning on both occasions, including the final in 2020.
“Daniil is somebody that I know extremely well and he beats me most of the time. He’s a bit like my kryptonite,” Zverev said.
Earlier, Alexander Bublik of Kazakhstan beat US fourth seed Taylor Fritz 7-6 (7/5), 6-2 to set up a last-eight clash with Australian world No. 6 Alex de Minaur.
Despite arguably being in the form of his life this year, 13th seed Bublik said it would require something miraculous for him to win a career-first Masters title.
“I have three matches to go, I have to beat the top 10 players, maybe Jannik in the final, so that sounds a bit like a miracle,” the 28-year-old said.
Bublik’s next opponent, De Minaur, eased past Russian 10th seed Karen Khachanov 6-2, 6-2 and in the process cemented his place at next month’s ATP Finals.
Canada’s Felix Auger-Aliassime reached the quarter-finals as he came from behind for the third time in as many matches in Paris to beat German Daniel Altmaier 3-6, 6-3, 6-2.
The ninth seed is one spot outside the last ATP Finals berth, which is currently occupied by Lorenzo Musetti, who lost on Wednesday to Sonego.
That result coupled with an Auger-Aliassime charge to the title-decider in Paris would send the 25-year-old above the Italian in the race to the eight-man showpiece.
However, before he can think about that, Auger-Aliassime must stop the in-form Valentin Vacherot of Monaco.
The Shanghai Masters champion continued his sensational run by ousting Norrie in straight sets.
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