Sinner reaches Paris Masters quarterfinals and continues to regain No. 1 ranking
PARIS — Jannik Sinner beat Francisco Cerundolo 7-5, 6-1 in the third round of the Paris Masters on Thursday, extending his indoor winning streak to 23 matches and keeping alive his chances of regaining the world No. 1 spot.
The four-time Grand Slam champion needs to win the tournament to regain the top spot from Carlos Alcaraz. Sinner’s quarterfinal opponent on Friday will be Ben Shelton.
The fifth-seeded American defeated 12th-seeded Andrey Rublev 7-6 (6), 6-3 to secure a spot in the eight-man ATP Finals in Turin, Italy.
Sinner is chasing his fifth title of the year and 23rd overall. Despite cramps, he won the ATP 500 tournament in Vienna last Sunday.
“Hopefully my body can recover, that’s my first priority,” Sinner said before Game 8 against Shelton. “It was a good game today and a great performance from my side.”
He leads Shelton 6-1 overall.
Defending champion Alexander Zverev takes on Alejandro Davidovich Fokina later on Thursday.
Valentin Vacherot seemed unstoppable as he defeated Cameron Norrie 7-6 (4), 6-4 to reach the quarter-finals of the Masters again.
This month, Vaccello performed well in the qualifiers and won the Shanghai Masters, his first career title. He defeated 24-time Grand Slam champion Novak Djokovic in the semifinals and his cousin Arthur Lindeknych in the final.
“I didn’t expect this,” Vaccello said. “Fortunately, I continue to come here and maybe enjoy the game more than in Shanghai.”
The 40th-ranked Vaccello from Monaco defeated Lindekneich again in the second round in Paris and set up a fight with Nouri after the British player knocked out Alcaraz.
Vaccello hit five aces and saved all five break points against Norrie, who dropped serve once.
Vaccello will next face ninth seed Felix Auger-Aliassime, who defeated Daniel Altmaier 3-6, 6-3, 6-2. The victory kept Auger-Aliassime’s chances of reaching the eight-man ATP season-ending finals in Turin, Italy.
Fourth-seeded American Taylor Fritz lost to 13th-seeded Alexander Bublik 7-6 (5), 6-2; No. 6 Alex Deminar defeated 2018 champion Karen Khachanov 6-2, 6-2; 2020 champion Daniil Medvedev 3-6, 7-6 (5), 6-4 defeated Lorenzo Sonego, reaching the quarter-finals of the Masters for the 25th time.
De Minaur qualified for the ATP Finals for the second consecutive season, and Shelton qualified for the ATP Finals for the first time, with one spot left.
Only by reaching the Paris final could Auger-Aliassime surpass Lorenzo Musetti.
