Paul ends Halys’ run in Paris to keep his Turin hopes alive

Twelfth seed Tommy Paul of the United States beat Frenchman Quentin Halys 7-6 (3), 6-4 in the last 16 of the Rolex Paris Masters on Thursday to reach the quarter-finals and keep his hopes of qualifying for the ATP Finals alive. He will face third seed Ben Shelton or Frenchman Arthur Rinderknech, who meet later on Thursday on Court Central.

The quarter-final matches Paul’s best result at the Rolex Paris Masters, reached in 2022. It was his first meeting with Halys at tour level, after two on the Challenger circuit, in 2015 and 2017, with a win each.

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Unbreakable Paul, Halys cracks at the very end

The match lasted 1 hour and 36 minutes and was decided on very few points. Paul lost only two points behind his first serve all match (43 of 45) and faced a single break point, in the second game, which he saved. He also held to love three times in a row in the first set.

Halys, who served 16 aces to Paul’s 14, held firm in the first set, saving two break points in the opening game and another at 4-4. In the tie-break, Paul won six points in a row from 0-1 to lead 6-1. Halys saved two set points on his serve before the American closed it out 7-3.

In the second set, the Frenchman came back from 0-40 to hold at 2-2. But serving at 4-5, he led 30-0, then lost three points in a row to face match point. He saved the first, but Paul converted the second for the only break of the match, after Halys had saved seven break points. The American finished with 36 winners and 14 unforced errors, against 29 and 21 for his opponent.

Paul keeps his Turin hopes alive in Paris

The win takes Paul to 2,925 points in the PIF ATP Live Race to Turin, according to Tennis Majors calculations. The American, 13th in the Race, still needs to reach the final to pass Rafael Jodar for the ninth and last place, with Jannik Sinner out for the season.

Paul opened his week by beating 2022 champion Holger Rune 7-5, 6-4, then Daniel Merida 6-1, 6-1. He has won one title this season, in Houston, and reached three other finals, in Delray Beach, Hamburg and at Queen’s.

Halys’ week ends after his win over Tiafoe

Halys, ranked No. 46, had beaten Britain’s Arthur Fery 7-6 (6), 7-5, then saved four match points to beat seventh seed Frances Tiafoe 6-3, 1-6, 7-6 (9) on Wednesday, the biggest win of his career. That result sent Arthur Fils to the ATP Finals.

The Frenchman is still in the doubles draw: he and Pierre-Hugues Herbert, who have a wildcard, face third seeds Marcel Granollers and Horacio Zeballos later on Thursday.

Rolex Paris Masters 2026 third-round results

Lorenzo Musetti vs Luca Van Assche (Thursday)
Rinky Hijikata (Q) vs Tomas Martin Etcheverry (Thursday)
Ben Shelton (3) vs Arthur Rinderknech (Thursday)
Tommy Paul (12) d. Quentin Halys 7-6 (3), 6-4
Jan-Lennard Struff (SE) vs Casper Ruud (Thursday)
Nuno Borges (LL) vs Ignacio Buse (Thursday)
Arthur Fils (6) vs Taylor Fritz (11) (Thursday)
Carlos Alcaraz (2) d. Matteo Berrettini, walkover

In bold: today’s results.