Match Report
De Minaur moves inside Turin cut; clutch Dimitrov moves closer
De Minaur to face former champ Rune in quarter-finals
October 31, 2024
Corinne Dubreuil/ATP Tour
Alex de Minaur digs deep to advance to the quarter-finals at the Rolex Paris Masters.
By Jerome Coombe
Alex de Minaur’s late charge to qualify for his maiden appearance at the Nitto ATP Finals is picking up serious pace at the Rolex Paris Masters.
The ninth seed rallied to defeat Jack Draper 5-7, 6-2, 6-3 on Thursday, snapping the Briton’s seven-match winning streak. With the triumph, De Minaur climbed inside the qualification spots in the PIF ATP Live Race To Turin, passing Andrey Rublev to eighth.
“You can never say ‘job done’ in the middle of a tournament, that’s not in my DNA,” De Minaur said, when asked about the Live Race. “Obviously I’m super stoked with the win today, but I will keep on doing my best and keep on trying to win more matches.
“It took every ounce from me and I am just happy I was able to rally. I’m going to put my body on the line, try my hardest, show my opponent that I can do that all day. I needed to bring that intensity because Jack is a hell of a competitor, playing with so much confidence right now.”
De Minaur now trails sixth-placed Novak Djokovic by 165 points in the Live Race, with fellow Turin hopefuls Grigor Dimitrov (10th) and Stefanos Tsitsipas (11th) still alive in Paris. De Minaur could pass seventh-placed Casper Ruud and Djokovic to sixth if he advances to the semi-finals of the indoor ATP Masters 1000.
De Minaur’s stellar first half of the season, during which he won two ATP Tour titles, was halted by a hip injury before his Wimbledon quarter-final. It was an injury that sidelined him for more than two months, but De Minaur has recovered to put himself in strong contention to compete at the Nitto ATP Finals.
Draper’s intensity was palpable from the outset, but De Minaur bounced back in a near-flawless second set, during which he won 92 per cent (12/13) of points behind his first delivery, according to Infosys ATP Stats.
The 25-year-old maintained the momentum in the early stages of the final set, racing to a 2-0 lead. Despite relinquishing the break, De Minaur dialled back in to clinch victory in a gruelling two-hour, five-minute battle.
After equalling his personal-best 47th win of the season and improving to 4-1 in his Lexus ATP Head2Head series with Draper, De Minaur will face Holger Rune for a spot in the semi-finals. The 2022 Paris champion Rune ended the dream run of lucky loser Arthur Cazaux with a 3-6, 6-3, 6-4 win.
Dimitrov had to dig deep in the final match of the day in Paris to keep his Turin hopes alive. The Bulgarian won the final four points of the match to secure a 6-2, 4-6, 7-6(5) triumph against Arthur Rinderknech and reach his 20th Masters 1000 quarter-final.
In a two-hour, four-minute encounter with home favourite Rinderknech, Dimitrov hit 17 aces and won 92 per cent (47/51) per cent of points behind his first delivery. The 33-year-old is now 46-17 for the year.
“The past couple of days I have been horrible,” said Dimitrov. “It’s been very interesting how I’ve been able to grasp that and keep on moving… This is what it’s all about when it comes down to this moment. It makes you feel alive.
“The match could have gone either way but I managed to stay strong. Wasn’t easy mentally with the crowd. He played very well and deserved to win the match as much as me.”
Dimitrov will enter Friday’s quarter-final clash against Karen Khachanov 405 points behind the eighth-placed De Minaur in the Live Race. He is bidding to return to the Nitto ATP Finals for the first time since he triumphed at the prestigious season finale in 2017.
