Alex de Minaur sinks Navone in Paris, Francisco Cerundolo drops Andrey Rublev | ATP Tour
Matching Report
De Minaur sinks the Navone in Paris, bolstering Turin’s hopes
Cerundolo takes down Rublev with 100th tour win
October 29, 2024
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Alex de Minaur advances to the second round of the Rolex Paris Masters. (file photo)
Written by Jerome Coombe
Alex de Minaur shows no signs of backing down in the battle to qualify for his first appearance at the Nitto ATP Finals.
The ninth seed finished with a flourish on Tuesday defeating Mariano Navone 7-5, 6-1 to advance to the second round of the Rolex Paris Masters. After a nervous finish in the opening set, De Minaur broke through with a near-flawless second to win in 89 minutes.
Demon smooth sailing ⛵️
No. 9 seeds @alexdeminaur he will face the fate of loser Kecmanovic in the second round in Bercy.#RolexParisMasters | @RolexPMasters pic.twitter.com/mM8WvmG2i4
– ATP Tour (@atptour) October 29, 2024
De Minaur’s outstanding season, in which he won two ATP Tour titles and climbed to No. 6 in the PIF ATP Rankings, may culminate in his first appearance at the end of the season.
The Australian, currently ranked ninth in the PIF ATP Live Race To Turin, moved to within 125 points of eighth-ranked Andrey Rublev with his opening round win in Paris. De Minaur, who will overtake Rublev in the run to the fourth round, will next face lucky loser Miomir Kecmanovic.
Earlier, Francisco Cerundolo achieved a century of wins at tour level in style as he upset sixth seed Rublev to reach the third round at the ATP Masters 1000 indoor tournament for the second consecutive year.
In a pendulum swing battle, Argentina came from a break down in both sets to win 7-6(6), 7-6(5), advancing to a 3-1 lead in the Lexus ATP Head2Head series.
The loss is a setback to Rublev’s bid to qualify for the Nitto ATP Finals for the fifth year in a row. Rublev will not be able to accumulate more points at this week’s ATP Masters 1000 event. Meanwhile, fellow Turin hopefuls De Minaur (ninth), Grigor Dimitrov (10th) and Stefanos Tsitsipas (12th) all they still live in Paris.
A big stage for a BIG milestone 👏🏟️@FranCerundolo brings up a century of tour-level wins by knocking out No. 6 Rublev, 7-6(6) 7-6(5)!#RolexParisMasters | @RolexPMasters pic.twitter.com/VFvTk3wmIm
– ATP Tour (@atptour) October 29, 2024
Cerundolo’s offensive prowess was on full display in his two-hour, 18-minute victory. The 26-year-old hit 35 winners and won 86 percent (6/7) of the points at the net, according to Infosys ATP Stats.
With the win, Cerundolo registered his fourth win in seven games against a Top 10 opponent in 2024. Number 29 in the PIF ATP Rankings will follow either Tsitsipas or Alejandro Tabilo for a place in the quarter-finals.
