Frenchman Arthur Rinderknech, 60th player in the world, was beaten Thursday 6-2, 4-6, 7-6 (7/5) by Bulgarian Grigor Dimitrov (9th) in the round of 16 of the Masters 1000 at Paris-Bercy. Among the five French people entered Thursday in the round of 16, only Ugo Humbert (18th) will have managed to advance to the next round thanks to his prestigious victory against world No.2 Carlos Alcaraz.
Aged 33, Dimitrov is well placed to win one of the last three qualifying tickets for the Turin Masters (November 10-17) and will face Russian Karen Khachanov (21st) in the quarter-finals on Friday evening.
“A few points made the difference. Arthur is a formidable competitor”complimented Grigor Dimitrov just after the end of the match.
Four points in a row in the tie-break
Rinderknech, aged 29, struggled to exist in the first set lost 6-2 in thirty minutes.
Closer, the second set turned to the advantage of the Frenchman, author of a decisive break in the 9th game to then win the set 6-4.
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The deciding set was decided in the tie-break. After leading 5-3, Rinderknech conceded four points in a row, synonymous with defeat.
The Frenchman equals his best performance in Masters 1000, the second most prestigious category of tournaments behind the Grand Slams. In August, he had already reached the round of 16 in Montreal.
