PARIS – Jannik Sinner defeated Francisco Cerundolo 7-5, 6-1 on Thursday in the third round of the Paris Masters, extending his domestic winning streak to 23 matches and maintaining his chances of regaining the No. 1 ranking.
The four-time Grand Slam champion must win the tournament to take over first place from Carlos Alcaraz. Sinner’s opponent in the quarterfinals on Friday is Ben Shelton.
The fifth-seeded American defeated 12th-seeded Andrey Rublev 7-6 (6), 6-3 to secure his place in the eight-person, season-ending ATP finals in Turin, Italy.
Sinner is chasing a fifth title of the year and 23rd overall. Despite cramps, he won an ATP 500 tournament in Vienna last Sunday.
“Hopefully I can recover physically, which is my main priority,” Sinner said ahead of his eighth match against Shelton. “Today was a great match and a great performance on my part.”
He leads Shelton 6-1 overall.
Meanwhile, defending champion Alexander Zverev defeated 15th seed Alejandro Davidovich Fokina 6-2, 6-4.
The third-seeded German won on his first match point with an ace and will next face 11th-seeded Daniil Medvedev, the 2020 champion.
They meet for the 22nd time in an often intense rivalry, with Medvedev leading 14-7 after winning the past five meetings.
There appears to be no stopping 40th-ranked Valentin Vacherot, who reached another Masters quarterfinal by beating Cameron Norrie 7-6 (4), 6-4.
This month, Vacherot already made a stunning run during the qualifiers for the Shanghai Masters for his first career title, after ranking 240th.
He defeated 24-time Grand Slam champion Novak Djokovic in the semifinals and defeated his own cousin Arthur Rinderknech in the final.
“I never expected it,” Vacherot said. “It’s a good thing that I keep coming here, perhaps enjoying the matches even more than in Shanghai.”
Vacherot, from Monaco, defeated Rinderknech again in the second round here in Paris, setting up a match against Norrie after the British player eliminated Alcaraz.
Vacherot had five aces and saved all five break points against Norrie, who dropped serve once.
Vacherot next faces ninth seed Felix Auger-Aliassime, who got past Daniel Altmaier 3-6, 6-3, 6-2. The win maintained Auger-Aliassime’s chances of reaching the eight-team, season-ending ATP Finals in Turin, Italy.
Auger-Aliassime will only surpass Lorenzo Musetti if he reaches the final in Paris.
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