Fritz beats Fils in Paris to keep Turin hopes alive and set up Alcaraz quarter-final

Taylor Fritz beat Arthur Fils 6-3, 6-4 on Court Central at the Paris Masters on Thursday night, ending the home crowd’s hopes in the last 16 and keeping his own chase for a place at the ATP Finals in Turin alive.

The American, seeded 11th, will play Carlos Alcaraz in Friday’s quarter-final, in a session that starts not before 11:30 pm IST. Alcaraz reached the last eight without hitting a ball after Matteo Berrettini withdrew.

Fritz never gave Fils a sniff. He broke for 4-2 on his first break point of the night and served out the first set to love. Fils saved two break points in the opening game of the second set but was broken for 2-1, and Fritz closed the match with another love game, finishing with a crosscourt backhand winner on his first match point. Fils did not earn a single break point, and won only one of 12 points on Fritz’s second serve. Fritz hit 14 aces and 27 winners, and the result was his 100th win at Masters 1000 level.

“I played really well,” Fritz said on court. “It’s how I want to play, it’s my style of tennis. It just feels great to be able to play seven weeks in a row.”

What it means for Turin

Fils had already sealed his place at the ATP Finals on Wednesday, the first Frenchman to qualify since Gael Monfils in 2016. Fritz is still on the outside. He is on 3,050 points in the race, and a semi-final in Paris would take him past Rafael Jodar on 3,234; reaching the final would also take him past Frances Tiafoe on 3,390. Tiafoe would have qualified on Thursday night had Fils won. Tommy Paul, on 2,925, needs to reach the final to have a chance.

Fritz is looking forward to the Alcaraz match. “Carlos and I have had a lot of battles, and some close ones as well, so I’m really looking forward to the opportunity,” he said.

Hijikata does it again

A day after knocking out Novak Djokovic, Australian qualifier Rinky Hijikata again came from a set down, beating Tomas Martin Etcheverry 2-6, 6-3, 7-5. Trailing 30-0 at 5-5 in the decider, he won four points in a row to break, then served out the match after two hours and nine minutes.

The world No. 83 is the first qualifier to reach the Paris quarter-finals since Hugo Gaston in 2021, and the win lifts him to No. 59 in the live rankings, above his career best. He plays Luca Van Assche, the last Frenchman in the draw, who beat Lorenzo Musetti 7-5, 3-6, 6-4.

Casper Ruud beat Jan-Lennard Struff 6-3, 6-3 without facing a break point and meets Nuno Borges, the first lucky loser to reach the last eight in Paris. Ben Shelton and Paul open Friday’s play on Court Central at 6:30 pm IST.