Halys saves four match points against Tiafoe and sends Fils to Turin
Quentin Halys beat seventh seed Frances Tiafoe 6-3, 1-6, 7-6 (9), breaking the American as he served for the match before saving four match points in the tie-break. The Frenchman’s biggest win sends Arthur Fils to Turin and sets up a last-16 clash with Tommy Paul.
Tiafoe – Halys, Rolex Paris Masters 2026 | © Chryslène Caillaud / PsNewz
Quentin Halys saved four match points as he beat American seventh seed Frances Tiafoe 6-3, 1-6, 7-6 (9) in 2 hours in the second round of the Paris Masters 1000 on Wednesday, a win that sent Arthur Fils to the ATP Finals. The Frenchman, ranked No. 46, will face American 12th seed Tommy Paul, who beat Spain’s Daniel Merida 6-1, 6-1, in the last 16.
It is the biggest win of Halys’s career by ranking, against the world No. 8. He had a 1-21 record against top 10 players before Wednesday. The 30-year-old reached the last 16 of a Masters 1000 event for the third time, after Miami in 2023 and this year, and is set to climb to No. 42 in the live rankings.
“To be completely honest, I don’t pay much attention to rankings. I didn’t think he was top 10 until Marc Maury did his introduction,” Halys said in French at his press conference, referring to the tournament’s announcer. “It’s a great win, it’s cool. The emotions I felt today are top.”
His win also settled one of the places for Turin. Fils qualified for the Nitto ATP Finals with a Halys victory, according to the ATP’s scenarios for the day, and becomes the first Frenchman to qualify since Gael Monfils in 2016. Tiafoe, eighth in the Race to Turin with 3,390 points, was chasing his first appearance at the event. In August, he had lost the Cincinnati final to Fils 6-3, 1-6, 6-0.
How Halys saved four match points against Tiafoe
Halys broke twice to lead 4-0 in the opening set. Tiafoe broke back at 4-1, on his fifth break point of the game, but the Frenchman closed out the set with a love hold for 6-3.
The American broke at 1-2 and 1-4 in the second set to level the match. He broke again in the opening game of the decider and led 3-1 and 4-2, before serving for the match at 5-4. Halys broke him on his first break point.
In the tie-break, Halys saved four match points and won it 11-9 on his first match point.
“It’s a bit 50-50. He misses a forehand that wasn’t very hard for him,” Halys said. “In the end, it’s just about trying to put the ball in the court one more time.”
The third set alone lasted 63 minutes. Halys hit 17 aces to Tiafoe’s seven and saved six of the 10 break points he faced, while Tiafoe saved none of his three. Halys won 93 points to Tiafoe’s 85.
“There is no rational explanation. I think he was a bit more deserving for a set and a half,” the Frenchman admitted.
Halys, a tie-break player, faces Paul next in Paris
Halys has won a tie-break in both of his matches this week, after beating Britain’s Arthur Fery 7-6 (6), 7-5 on Tuesday.
“Because of my game style, I regularly end up playing tie-breaks. I’m quite good at it, because I usually put a lot of pressure on with my serve,” he explained. “Especially indoors, it all comes down to very little.”
Tiafoe, who won the Halle title this year, had a 19-2 record in his opening matches of the season. He has not won a match in Paris since his run to the quarter-finals in 2022.
“It’ll be a similar style of game: an American who serves very well, who also moves very well,” Halys said of Paul. “It’s maybe not the surface they’re best on, it’s maybe a bit quick for them.”
Rolex Paris Masters 2026 second-round results
Lorenzo Musetti d. Alexander Zverev (1) 7-6 (5), 6-2
Luca Van Assche d. Learner Tien (15) 7-6 (4), 6-4
Novak Djokovic (10) vs Rinky Hijikata (Q) (Wednesday)
Tomas Martin Etcheverry vs Alex de Minaur (8) (Wednesday)
Ben Shelton (3) d. Cameron Norrie 6-3, 6-4
Arthur Rinderknech d. Mattia Bellucci (Q) 6-4, 6-1
Tommy Paul (12) d. Daniel Merida 6-1, 6-1
Quentin Halys d. Frances Tiafoe (7) 6-3, 1-6, 7-6 (9)
Thiago Agustin Tirante (LL) vs Jan-Lennard Struff (SE) (Wednesday)
Casper Ruud d. Rafael Jodar (9) 6-3, 6-4
Nuno Borges (LL) vs Karen Khachanov (Wednesday)
Ignacio Buse vs Daniil Medvedev (4) (Wednesday)
Arthur Fils (6) vs Tomas Machac (Q) (Wednesday)
Alex Molcan (Q) vs Taylor Fritz (11) (Wednesday)
Matteo Berrettini vs Ugo Humbert (Wednesday)
Alex Michelsen vs Carlos Alcaraz (2) (Wednesday)
In bold: today’s results.
