Jordan Thompson and Alex de Minaur ensured two Aussies advanced to the Paris Masters last eight for the first time.
Melbourne, 4 November 2024 | Dan Imhoff
Jordan Thompson added another feather in his cap in a standout season following his run to a maiden ATP Masters 1000 quarterfinal in Paris.
For the third time this year, the 30-year-old gained the better of Norway’s Casper Ruud and he backed up his win over the seventh seed against Adrian Mannarino for a last-eight berth.
The breakthrough came in his 28th Masters 1000 campaign and ended at the hands of eventual finalist Ugo Humbert. He also reached the doubles semifinals with his US Open-winning partner, Max Purcell.
> READ MORE: De Minaur powers into position for ATP Finals place
In a late sprint to the finish line, Alex de Minaur moved into the box seat to qualify for his maiden ATP Tour Finals appearance after he too made the Paris Masters quarterfinals.
It marked the first time in the event’s 38-year-old history at Bercy that two Australians made it as far.
3 – Since the format’s inception in 1990, Jordan Thompson is now only the third Australian aged 30+ to reach an ATP Masters 1000 QF, along with Wayne Arthurs (Cincinnati 2002) and Matthew Ebden (Shanghai 2018). Spring.#RolexParisMasters | @RolexPMasters @atptour @ATPMediaInfo pic.twitter.com/ERZiYFTxyk
— OptaAce (@OptaAce) October 31, 2024
This week’s most outstanding performers include…
Alex de Minaur: Revenge over his US Open quarterfinal conqueror, Jack Draper, booked his last-eight berth in the final Masters 1000 event of the season where he succumbed to a former champion, 13th seed Holger Rune. De Minaur’s three main draw wins and Andrey Rublev’s early departure allowed the Australian to move ahead of him into eighth in the Race to Turin.
Alexei Popyrin: The 25-year-old enhanced his reputation for big-name upsets after he felled fourth seed Daniil Medvedev to reach the round of 16 at the Paris Masters. The three-set victory marked his fifth from his past six matches against top-10 opponents and the 11th of his career.
Thanasi Kokkinakis: In a showdown between the top two seeds, the 28-year-old denied Rinky Hijikata for his seventh ATP Challenger title – his first on home soil – in Sydney. The second seed did not drop a set in five matches and avenged a defeat to Hijikata in the opening round in Brisbane in January.
Emerson Jones: The 16-year-old’s star has risen further after capturing her first ITF singles title at the W75 event in Sydney. Jones carried the confidence from her ITF Junior Tour Finals triumph to home soil where she stunned the top two seeds – Talia Gibson and Taylah Preston – back-to-back to land the prize.
Rinky Hijikata: The top seed at the Sydney Challenger event came up short of back-to-back ATP Challenger titles at home after his straight-sets defeat to Kokkinakis. It was 23-year-old’s second Challenger final of the season after his Playford triumph last month.
Taylah Preston: The second seed did not drop a set en route to her seventh ITF final – her first since February – at the W75 Sydney event before she fell to fellow teenager Jones. The 19-year-old and Lizette Cabrera denied top seeds Maddison Inglis and Destanee Aiava for the doubles crown.
Keeping his Turin dream alive 😮💨@alexdeminaur ends Draper's unbeaten run winning 5-7 6-2 6-3 to move into the last 8 in Paris#RolexParisMasters pic.twitter.com/1nhw4NbRoy
— Tennis TV (@TennisTV) October 31, 2024
Ellen Perez: Ellen Perez qualified for the WTA Finals for a second time alongside American Nicole Melichar-Martinez and the pair opened their group stage with a three-set win over third seeds Hsieh Su-wei and Elise Mertens. It came after the pair reached the Ningo final a fortnight ago.
Max Purcell: Fourth seeds Purcell and Thompson reached their first Masters 1000 semifinal of the season together in Paris after they gained revenge over their Wimbledon final conquerors Harri Heliovaara and Henry Patten. It marked the duo’s ninth ATP semifinal in tandem this season.
Li Tu: The 28-year-old made his fifth ATP Challenger quarterfinal of the season after he upset fourth seed Tseng Chun Hsin and former Australian Open semifinalist Hyeon Chung back-to-back in Seoul.Tristan Schoolkate: The 23-year-old notched his fourth Challenger semifinal of the year in Sydney where he lost to eventual champion Kokkinakis. It was Schoolkate’s sixth career Challenger semifinal, all of which have been on hard courts.
Talia Gibson: The 20-year-old improved her match record to 20-2 on the Australian Pro Tour since the start of September after she reached the semifinals at the W75 Sydney event. Gibson fell to eventual champion Jones in her sixth semifinal this season.
Lizette Cabrera: The 26-year-old and Cabrera rebounded from a loss in the W75 Playford final to clench the doubles at the W75 Sydney event alongside Preston. The win gave Cabrera her sixth ITF doubles title.
Maddison Inglis: As top seeds and defending champions alongside Destanee Aiava, Inglis fell narrowly shy of her second Australian Pro Tour doubles title of the season in the W75 Sydney event. Inglis landed the W75 title with Preston in Perth in September but came up short against her fellow West Australian and Cabrera in the final.
Destanee Aiava: Back-to-back Sydney doubles titles narrowly eluded Aiava and Inglis, who fell to Cabrera/Preston in a three-set final. In her fourth ITF Final of the season, the 24-year-old was aiming for her second doubles trophy of the year.
Blake Ellis: The 25-year-old and Thomas Fancutt claimed the Sydney title for back-to-back Challenger trophies. The second seeds left on an eight-match winning streak after they beat Blake Bayldon and Mats Hermans for the title. It was Ellis’ fourth Challenger doubles title of the year.
Thomas Fancutt: After two straight doubles final defeat since July, the 29-year-old won the Sydney Challenger final with Ellis for his third ATP Challenger trophy of the season. The win over unseeded Bayldon/Hermans handed Fancutt his biggest title on home soil.
Blake Bayldon: The 25-year-old and Dutchman Mats Hermans reached the Sydney Challenger final where they were unable to subdue Ellis/Fancutt. It was Bayldon’s second Challenger final of the season after he and Kody Pearson finished runners-up in Burnie.
Kody Pearson: A doubles semifinal at the Sydney Challenger event alongside American Joshua Sheehy was the 25-year-old’s first at that level since June. Pearson/Sheehy went down to Bayldon/Hermans.
Adam Taylor: The 33-year-old, alongside Japan’s Ryuki Matsuda, reached the Sydney Challenger doubles semifinals before a defeat to eventual champions Ellis/Fancutt. It improved Taylor’s record for the season to 11-24.
Patrick Harper: The 24-year-old reached his sixth ATP Challenger doubles semifinal of the season in Charlottesville, USA, with New Zealander Finn Reynolds. The duo fell to eventual champions Robert Cash and James Tracy. It snapped Harper’s four-match losing streak in doubles since his semifinal in Columbus, USA, in September.