Spoiler:
Austrian next plays defending champion Sock
Dominic Thiem reached the quarter-finals of the Rolex Paris Masters for the first time on Thursday, outlasting in-form Borna Coric 6-7(3), 6-2, 7-5 in two hours and 28 minutes.
"It was a great fight from both of us from the beginning to the end," Thiem said. "Borna is in great shape. He has his career-high right now, so I think I was beating one of the best players right now in the world. That makes me very happy."
The Austrian is trying to qualify for the Nitto ATP Finals for the third consecutive year. If Kevin Anderson defeats Kei Nishikori in the final match of the day in Paris, Thiem will be guaranteed a spot at The O2 in London from 11-18 November.
Thiem is second on the ATP World Tour with 52 match wins in 2018, trailing just Alexander Zverev, who has 54 tour-level victories this year. The sixth seed trailed Coric by a break in the final set, but he was able to reduce his unforced errors to beat the Rolex Shanghai Masters finalist for the third time in four FedEx ATP Head2Head matches, which have all come at Masters 1000 events.
In the next round, Thiem will face Jack Sock, who kept his title defence hopes alive with a 6-0, 6-4 victory against lucky loser Malek Jaziri.
Sock, the 16th seed, claimed his maiden Masters 1000 title at Bercy last year, helping him earn a spot in singles at the Nitto ATP Finals. Sock has booked his spot at The O2 in London from 11-18 November in doubles this year, qualifying with Mike Bryan.
"It's always fun to play him. We've had some great matches in the past. Haven't played for a little while now, so I'm looking forward to that one," said Thiem, who leads the pair's FedEx ATP Head2Head series 2-1. "Of course I'm trying everything to stop him, but it's going to be tough, especially here in Bercy."
Marach/Pavic Move Into Quarter-finals
On their Rolex Paris Masters team debut, Oliver Marach and Mate Pavic beat Rohan Bopanna and Edouard Roger-Vasselin 7-6(9), 6-3 to reach the quarter-finals.
Marach and Pavic were forced to save five set points in the first set before claiming victory after 86 minutes. Chasing their first tour-level trophy since the Banque Eric Sturdza Geneva Open in May, the top seeds will meet John Isner and Neal Skupski for a place in the semi-finals.
Defending champions Lukasz Kubot and Marcelo Melo recovered from a set down to beat Aisam-Ul-Haq Qureshi and Stefanos Tsitsipas 5-7, 6-2, 10-7. The third seeds will face Marcel Granollers and Rajeev Ram in the quarter-finals. Granollers and Ram defeated Jamie Murray and Bruno Soares 6-3, 6-3 on Wednesday.
Jean-Julien Rojer and Horia Tecau upset fourth seeds Juan Sebastian Cabal and Robert Farah 7-6(5), 5-7, 10-8. Rojer and Tecau fired six aces and won 76 per cent of first-serve points (41/54). The Dutch-Romanian duo will next meet Raven Klaasen and Michael Venus. Klaasen and Venus beat Austin Krajicek and Nikola Mektic 3-6, 6-4, 10-5.
Eighth seeds Pierre-Hugues Herbert and Nicolas Mahut delighted home fans, beating Basel titlists Dominic Inglot and Franko Skugor 6-3, 7-5. The Roland Garros champions will face second seeds Mike Bryan and Jack Sock for a semi-final spot.
Dominic Thiem reached the quarter-finals of the Rolex Paris Masters for the first time on Thursday, outlasting in-form Borna Coric 6-7(3), 6-2, 7-5 in two hours and 28 minutes.
"It was a great fight from both of us from the beginning to the end," Thiem said. "Borna is in great shape. He has his career-high right now, so I think I was beating one of the best players right now in the world. That makes me very happy."
The Austrian is trying to qualify for the Nitto ATP Finals for the third consecutive year. If Kevin Anderson defeats Kei Nishikori in the final match of the day in Paris, Thiem will be guaranteed a spot at The O2 in London from 11-18 November.
Thiem is second on the ATP World Tour with 52 match wins in 2018, trailing just Alexander Zverev, who has 54 tour-level victories this year. The sixth seed trailed Coric by a break in the final set, but he was able to reduce his unforced errors to beat the Rolex Shanghai Masters finalist for the third time in four FedEx ATP Head2Head matches, which have all come at Masters 1000 events.
In the next round, Thiem will face Jack Sock, who kept his title defence hopes alive with a 6-0, 6-4 victory against lucky loser Malek Jaziri.
Sock, the 16th seed, claimed his maiden Masters 1000 title at Bercy last year, helping him earn a spot in singles at the Nitto ATP Finals. Sock has booked his spot at The O2 in London from 11-18 November in doubles this year, qualifying with Mike Bryan.
"It's always fun to play him. We've had some great matches in the past. Haven't played for a little while now, so I'm looking forward to that one," said Thiem, who leads the pair's FedEx ATP Head2Head series 2-1. "Of course I'm trying everything to stop him, but it's going to be tough, especially here in Bercy."
Marach/Pavic Move Into Quarter-finals
On their Rolex Paris Masters team debut, Oliver Marach and Mate Pavic beat Rohan Bopanna and Edouard Roger-Vasselin 7-6(9), 6-3 to reach the quarter-finals.
Marach and Pavic were forced to save five set points in the first set before claiming victory after 86 minutes. Chasing their first tour-level trophy since the Banque Eric Sturdza Geneva Open in May, the top seeds will meet John Isner and Neal Skupski for a place in the semi-finals.
Defending champions Lukasz Kubot and Marcelo Melo recovered from a set down to beat Aisam-Ul-Haq Qureshi and Stefanos Tsitsipas 5-7, 6-2, 10-7. The third seeds will face Marcel Granollers and Rajeev Ram in the quarter-finals. Granollers and Ram defeated Jamie Murray and Bruno Soares 6-3, 6-3 on Wednesday.
Jean-Julien Rojer and Horia Tecau upset fourth seeds Juan Sebastian Cabal and Robert Farah 7-6(5), 5-7, 10-8. Rojer and Tecau fired six aces and won 76 per cent of first-serve points (41/54). The Dutch-Romanian duo will next meet Raven Klaasen and Michael Venus. Klaasen and Venus beat Austin Krajicek and Nikola Mektic 3-6, 6-4, 10-5.
Eighth seeds Pierre-Hugues Herbert and Nicolas Mahut delighted home fans, beating Basel titlists Dominic Inglot and Franko Skugor 6-3, 7-5. The Roland Garros champions will face second seeds Mike Bryan and Jack Sock for a semi-final spot.
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