Stefanos Tsitsipas is combining his rapid rise up the ATP Rankings with an equally speedy portfolio of wins. The Greek reached 100 tour-level wins with his third-round victory on Thursday against Aussie Alex de Minaur at the Rolex Paris Masters.

The 21-year-old hit his latest milestone after 160 matches (100-60) on Tour, which is a faster rate than everyone in the Top 10 besides Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic.

Fastest To 100 Among The Current Top 10

Tsitsipas picked up his first tour-level win two years ago at the ATP Masters 1000 event in Shanghai and immediately built on it with his maiden ATP Tour semi-final in Antwerp. Forty-six more wins followed in 2018, including his first ATP Tour title in Stockholm (d. Gulbis), first Masters 1000 final in Toronto (l. to Nadal) and the Next Gen ATP Finals title in Milan (d. De Minaur).

The Greek surpassed those numbers this year with his 50th tour-level win on Thursday. He joined Daniil Medvedev and Roger Federer as the only players to reach that mark this season. Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic will play for their 50th win later Thursday.

Tsitsipas captured titles in Marseille (d. Kukushkin) and Estoril (Cuevas), in addition to reaching another Masters 1000 final in Madrid (l. to Djokovic). He also defeated Federer en route to his maiden Grand Slam semi-final at the Australian Open, after which he declared that “my idol today became my rival.”

His outstanding results helped him become the first Greek player to crack the Top 5 of the ATP Rankings this August. The Greek’s victory over Djokovic in Shanghai, his first against a World No. 1, secured his debut appearance at the season-ending Nitto ATP Finals, to be held at The O2 in London from 10-17 November.

Tsitsipas will look to add more wins to his tally in Paris when he faces top seed Djokovic or Kyle Edmund in the quarter-finals.

Novak Djokovic put behind his opening struggles at the Rolex Paris Masters on Thursday to reach the quarter-finals of the season’s final ATP Masters 1000 event.

The Serbian, who struggled early on during his second-round match on Wednesday (d. Moutet), looked sharp and played resiliently against Brit Kyle Edmund to advance 7-6(7), 6-1. Djokovic let slip a 6/3 lead in the first-set tie-break but clinched the set on his seventh set point.

He needed no such dramatics in the second set as he broke three times and won 12 of the final 14 points to celebrate his 50^th match win of the season, the 12^th time Djokovic has reached that milestone in his career.

“I was feeling energy-wise better and felt more alert, just more strength, more energy, more speed. I didn’t play so well, I think, from baseline in the first set. I served well. That got me to the tie-break,” Djokovic said.

“Second set was the best set I’ve played so far in the tournament. Finished off with a winner, finished off with amazing return game. So of course the sensation is very positive. And I’m convinced that I’m headed in the right direction so that tomorrow will be even better.”

The 32-year-old is looking to finish year-end No. 1 for the sixth time. Djokovic needs to remain within 1,500 points of Rafael Nadal this week in order to have a chance at surpassing the Spaniard at the Nitto ATP Finals, to be held 10-17 November at The O2 in London. At the start of Thursday play, Djokovic was 1,280 points behind the Spaniard.

Djokovic will next meet Greece’s Stefanos Tsitsipas in a rematch of their Rolex Shanghai Masters quarter-final earlier this month, which Tsitsipas won for his first win against a World No. 1.

“Obviously he’s one of the best players in the world. He’s already an established player. He’s all-around player, plays very well on all surfaces,” Djokovic said.

Tsitsipas, the World No. 7, beat #NextGenATP Aussie Alex de Minaur 6-3, 6-4 to make his fourth ATP Masters 1000 quarter-final of the season and also earn his 50^th win of 2019, a career-best mark (46 last year). Tsitsipas also celebrated the 100^th tour-level win of his career.

The 20-year-old broke De Minaur three times, including during the second game of the opening set and the ninth game of the second set, to improve to 3-0 in his FedEx ATP Head2Head series with De Minaur. Tsitsipas also beat the Aussie during the 2018 Next Gen ATP Finals title match.

De Minaur, No. 18 in the ATP Rankings, will return to the award-winning 21-and-under tournament next week as the top seed and will try to triumph in Milan for the first time.

Tsitsipas, who also made Masters 1000 quarter-finals in Rome, Madrid and Shanghai, will make his debut at the season-ending Nitto ATP Finals, to be held 10-17 November at The O2 in London. In Paris, the Greek star will next meet four-time champion Novak Djokovic or Briton Kyle Edmund for a place in the semi-finals. Tsitsipas beat Djokovic earlier this month to reach the Rolex Shanghai Masters semi-finals.

Grigor Dimitrov barely put a foot wrong on Thursday in one of his best performances of the year for a place in the Rolex Paris Masters quarter-finals. The Bulgarian ended the six-match winning streak of fifth seed Dominic Thiem 6-3, 6-2 in 72 minutes.

Dimitrov competed with great urgency throughout, and combatted Thiem’s aggression in the Austrian’s bid to work his way back into the match. Dimitrov’s willingness to attack the net reaped dividends early on and he quickly took a 4-1 lead. The 32-minute first set ended when Thiem hit a forehand return wide.

Dimitrov, who had advanced to the Paris third round for the seventh straight year, broke Thiem in a 10-minute third game of the second set courtesy of a volley error. Thiem pressed, but Dimitrov hit big from behind the baseline and snatched another break for a 4-1 advantage. Serving for the match at 5-2, 40/0, Dimitrov hit his first double fault, but it was a momentary lapse in concentration for the 2017 Nitto ATP Finals champion.

According to Hawkeye, Dimitrov did his best to step into the court and dictate with his forehand. The Bulgarian was pinned deep in his backhand corner when Thiem engaged him in cross-court backhand rallies. But whenenver he was able to, the 2017 Nitto ATP Finals champion stepped in to play aggressively with his forehand, hitting his forehand five kilometres per hour quicker on average (127 vs. 122 kmh) than the big-hitting Thiem. 

Dimitrov took 41 per cent of his forehands inside the baseline, an area in which Thiem only found himself hitting forehands 29 per cent of the time.

Dimitrov & Thiem’s Forehand Hit Points

Dimitrov also controlled play with his serve, winning 88 per cent of his first-serve points, while Thiem won just 64 per cent of his. Dimitrov interestingly attacked Thiem’s forehand return in the deuce court, going there 58 per cent of the time. Thiem managed to put just 50 per cent of his first-serve returns in play throughout the match.

Dimitrov’s First-Serve Placement

Thiem, a winner of an ATP Tour-best five trophies in 2019 and a 46-17 match record, will now prepare to focus on competing at the season finale, to be held at The O2 in London from 10-17 November. Last week, he captured the Erste Bank Open crown.

Dimitrov will next face Cristian Garin, who saved three match points in the first completed singles match of the day to book a place in his first ATP Masters 1000 quarter-final.

The Chilean, who has lifted two ATP Tour trophies this year, battled back from a 3/6 deficit in the deciding set tie-break to earn a 6-7(4), 6-4, 7-6(6) victory over French qualifier Jeremy Chardy in two hours and 24 minutes. The pair had split their two previous meetings in 2019 at Houston and Bastad.

Garin saved the first match point at 6/3 with a forehand approach winner, then hit an ace at 4/6. Chardy was hesitant to attack the net when serving at 6/5 and mis-timed a forehand.

– Hawkeye data and visuals courtesy ATP Media

A treasured rivalry will get its latest chapter on Thursday at the Rolex Paris Masters when second seed Rafael Nadal meets No. 16 seed Stan Wawrinka as part of a stacked third-round lineup. Nadal looks to remain on course for his first title at the AccorHotels Arena, which would also clinch the year-end No. 1 ATP Ranking for him.

“I’m very happy to be able to compete again at a good level,” Nadal said. “Tomorrow is another day, another tough match against Stan. Every day in this tournament is so difficult, so let’s see if I’m able to play another good match.”

Nadal holds a convincing 18-3 lead over Wawrinka in their Fedex ATP Head2Head rivalry and has won their past five matches, all in straight sets. The Spaniard is on a 12-match winning streak and exuding confidence in his game, continually finding ways to step up in the crucial moments of a set.

But Nadal knows he can’t rely on his past success against Wawrinka for their latest clash. Wawrinka’s most recent victory over his rival came at this event four years ago. The Swiss has also been in top form lately, prevailing in 11 of his past 13 matches since the start of the US Open.

After competing against each other for more than a decade on the world’s biggest stages, there will be no secrets when they meet on Court Central. Their game plans will likely remain similar to their other 21 matches, but it will come down to who can execute them most effectively.

“I do not want him to play his game, which means I need to make sure I don’t let him be in a position where he can hit hard,” Nadal said before the 2017 Roland Garros final, their most recent meeting in Paris. “I will have to do everything I can to keep him from playing aggressively. If I can play long balls, if I can hit hard… I think I will be hopefully able to control him. Easy to say, but it may not be that easy to do.”

The match is also a must-win for Wawrinka if he wants to return to the season-ending Nitto ATP Finals, held at The O2 in London from 10-17 November. The Swiss needs to take the title in Paris in order to have a shot at grabbing the last remaining qualifying spot.

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Top seed Novak Djokovic continues his quest for a fifth Paris title against Brit Kyle Edmund. The Serbian leads their FedEx ATP Head2Head rivalry 4-1. Djokovic needs a big week in Paris in order to keep his hopes alive for a sixth year-end No. 1 finish. He trails Nadal by 1,280 points in the ATP Race to London, which acts as a barometer for who will finish the year at No. 1, but can close the gap significantly with the 1,000 points on offer for the winner this week.

“I understand that I need to play better and feel better to have a chance to go far in this tournament and, as a result of that, to have a chance to still be in the battle for No. 1,” Djokovic said. “But, again, it doesn’t depend only on me. It depends on [Nadal]. But my focus is on me.”

Two other London hopefuls are also in action on Thursday. Frenchman Gael Monfils, the No. 13 seed, squares off with Moldovan Radu Albot. Monfils will return to The O2 if he can reach the final this week. Aussie Alex de Minaur takes on seventh-seeded Greek Stefanos Tsitsipas in an all-#NextGenATP battle. De Minaur must take the title in Paris in order to have a shot at qualifying.

Who will win the latest @FedEx ATP Head2Head match between these players?#RolexParisMasters

— ATP Tour (@atptour) October 31, 2019

Other notable matches on Thursday include sixth-seeded German Alexander Zverev, who clinched the seventh qualifying spot for London, battling #NextGenATP Canadian Denis Shapovalov. Fifth-seeded Austrian Dominic Thiem looks to get ahead in his FedEx ATP Head2Head rivalry with Bulgarian Grigor Dimitrov, which is currently tied 2-2.

ORDER OF PLAY – THURSDAY 31 October 2019
COURT CENTRAL start 11:00 am
[Q] Jeremy Chardy vs Cristian Garin (CHI)
[5] Dominic Thiem vs Grigor Dimitrov
[1] Novak Djokovic (SRB) vs Kyle Edmund (GBR)

Not Before 5:00 pm
Jo-Wilfried Tsonga (FRA) vs Jan-Lennard Struff (GER)

Not Before 7:30 pm
[2] Rafael Nadal (ESP) vs [16] Stan Wawrinka (SUI)
[13] Gael Monfils (FRA) vs Radu Albot (MDA)

Court 1 start 11:00 am
Karen Khachanov (RUS) / Andrey Rublev (RUS) vs Marcus Daniell (NZL) / Philipp Oswald (AUT)
[8] Ivan Dodig/Filip Polasek vs Jurgen Melzer (AUT) / Edouard Roger-Vasselin (FRA)
[7] Stefanos Tsitsipas vs Alex de Minaur (AUS)
[6] Alexander Zverev (GER) vs Denis Shapovalov (CAN)
Maximo Gonzalez (ARG) / Austin Krajicek (USA) vs Rohan Bopanna (IND) / Denis Shapovalov (CAN)

Click here to view the rest of Thursday’s schedule

Alexander Zverev has become the seventh singles player to qualify for the Nitto ATP Finals, to be held at The O2 in London from 10-17 November. The 22-year-old German will make his third straight appearance alongside Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic, Roger Federer, Daniil Medvedev, Dominic Thiem and Stefanos Tsitsipas in the 2019 field.

Last year, Zverev captured the biggest title of his career at the Nitto ATP Finals, becoming the first player to beat both Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic in the 10 years that both men were in the field (2007-15, 2018). He was the first German titlist since Boris Becker in 1995 and the youngest year-end champion since Djokovic, aged 21, in 2008.

“I am really happy to qualify for the third consecutive year,” said Zverev. “Winning the title there last year has been the highlight of my career so far. I have such great memories of The O2.”

Buy Your London Tickets

Zverev, who secured his place in the eight-player field after a number of London contenders bowed out in second-round action Wednesday at the Rolex Paris Masters, has notched 40+ match wins for the fourth consecutive season.

The Monte-Carlo resident clinched his 11th ATP Tour trophy in May, winning three consecutive three-set matches at the Banque Eric Sturdza Geneva Open that culminated in saving two match points against Nicolas Jarry in the final. He also finished runner-up at the Abierto Mexicano Telcel presentado por HSBC (l. to Kyrgios) in March and at the Rolex Shanghai Masters (l. to Medvedev) earlier this month. Additionally, he advanced to the Roland Garros quarter-finals for the second successive year.

Italy’s Matteo Berrettini, who is looking to clinch his first spot at the Nitto ATP Finals, sits in eighth position in the 2019 ATP Race To London. Frenchman Gael Monfils, Swiss Stan Wawrinka and Australia’s Alex de Minaur also remain in contention for the final singles berth with less than one week to go of the regular ATP Tour season.

Seven doubles teams — Juan Sebastian Cabal and Robert Farah, this year’s Wimbledon and US Open champions, who will receive the year-end No. 1 doubles trophy at The O2 next month, Lukasz Kubot and Marcelo Melo, Raven Klaasen and Michael Venus, Kevin Krawietz and Andreas Mies, Jean-Julien Rojer and Horia Tecau, Rajeev Ram and Joe Salisbury, and Pierre-Hugues Herbert and Nicolas Mahut — have qualified for the doubles season finale.

The ATP’s crown jewel event is to be held at The O2 in London through to 2020, where it has been staged to wide acclaim since 2009. The event has successfully established itself as one of the major annual sporting events worldwide, broadcast in more than 180 territories with global viewership figures reaching an average of 95 million each year.

The battle for year-end No. 1 in the ATP Rankings is officially on. Rafael Nadal, in his first tour-level match since 21 September, held off France’s Adrian Mannarino 7-5, 6-4 on Wednesday night at the Rolex Paris Masters to maintain his 1,280-point lead over Novak Djokovic in the ATP Race To London.

Djokovic beat Frenchman Corentin Moutet earlier Wednesday and is looking to pass Nadal in the Race and finish as the year-end No. 1 for the sixth time. But Nadal controls his destiny. If the Spaniard wins his first Rolex Paris Masters crown, he will end the year No. 1 for the fifth time.

Mannarino hung tough during the 59-minute opener, erasing Nadal’s first three set points as the Paris fans tried to will their man to the upset. Nadal is playing in Bercy for the first time since 2017 and only the seventh time overall, and he owns only one indoor hard-court title (2005 Madrid).

But, despite Mannarino mixing up his first-serve location well, Nadal took the opener when the Frenchman netted a backhand. The Spaniard broke once more, just in time, in the 10th game of the second set when Mannarino made back-to-back unforced errors.

Nadal will next meet Swiss Stan Wawrinka, who edged Croatian Marin Cilic 7-6(3), 7-6(5) in just under two hours. It will be their 22^nd FedEx ATP Head2Head meeting (Nadal leads 18-3), and their first on indoor hard courts since the 2015 Nitto ATP Finals (Nadal won 6-3, 6-2).

Rajeev Ram/Joe Salisbury continued their hot streak on Wednesday at the Rolex Paris Masters, moving into the second round with a 6-1, 6-3 victory over Robin Haase/Wesley Koolhof.

Ram/Salisbury, who took the title last week in Vienna (d. Kubot/Melo), have won nine of their past 11 matches. Earlier this week, they clinched their team debut at the season-ending Nitto ATP Finals, held at The O2 in London from 10-17 November.

Seventh seeds Pierre-Hugues Herbert/Nicolas Mahut powered past Hubert Hurkacz/Jan-Lennard Struff 6-3, 6-4 to reach the quarter-finals. The reigning Australian Open champions will take on fellow French duo Jeremy Chardy/Fabrice Martin or Divij Sharan/Artem Sitak in the next round. Roland Garros champions Kevin Krawietz/Andreas Mies also moved into the last eight by cruising through Marin Cilic/Pablo Cuevas 7-6(3), 6-1.

Maximo Gonzalez and Austin Krajicek scored the shock of the day with a 7-6(5), 4-6, 10-8 first-round win over third seeds Lukasz Kubot/Marcelo Melo. Second seeds Marcel Granollers/Horacio Zeballos avoided an opening-round upset by rallying to defeat Jean-Julien Rojer/Horia Tecau 3-6, 6-3, 10-4. Rohan Bopanna/Denis Shapovalov opened their week with a 6-4, 7-5 win against Benoit Paire/Fernando Verdasco.