Spooky in Paris! At 2:22 a.m., Dominic Thiem finishes off Stan Wawrinka after match point save

There was something spooky about Court Central at the Rolex Paris Masters on Monday.

Six matches were slated for a jam-packed day of play. When all was said and done, poetically at 2:22 a.m. local time on Halloween, Dominic Thiem became the third player to survive from match point down.

The Austrian battled back to defeat Stan Wawrinka, 3-6, 6-3, 7-5, in a clash of former major champions with signature one-handed backhands.

“I guess in the last month or two years, I lost more close matches than I’ve won. So this one is very, very important for me,” Thiem told the World Feed afterwards. “The tennis got better, especially since Vienna. I went here to play the qualies, beat two great guys and now Stan in such a close match, saved match point. So it gives me a huge boost.”

Wawrinka served for the match at 5-3, but double-faulted with match point on his racquet. The moment reenergized Thiem, who showed even well after 2 a.m., he could produce consistent weight of shot and read his opponent’s next move when covering the net.

The 30-year-old broke when Wawrinka’s backhand flew long to end an extended rally, then shut the door at love to pull off the valiant comeback.

Thiem improved to 2-3 in their head-to-head series, with all five encounters taking place in Masters 1000 tournaments. The two were squaring off for the first time since the 2017 Indian Wells quarterfinals, won by Wawrinka. Both players finished in the green: Thiem with a +6 differential (34 winners to 28 unforced errors) and Wawrinka right behind at +5 (36 winners to 31 unforced errors).

The loss denied Wawrinka a rematch with defending champion Holger Rune, who one year ago, staved off three match points in the first round to beat the Swiss before the future Hall of Fame had words for the "baby" at the net.

As for Thiem, the points that come with a first-round win to go with what he picked up by winning a pair of qualifying matches could prove pivotal to gaining main-draw entry at the 2024 Australian Open. He dropped to No. 108 in this week’s rankings.

“I think I never went on court that late, I never finished that late as well. I want to thank the crowd, which was still amazing,” said Thiem. “It’s very nice for me to share that match with Stan. We kind of have a history together. Obviously, he’s one of my big idols backhand wise.”

In the match that preceded Monday’s finale, Tommy Paul escaped home favorite Richard Gasquet, 0-6, 6-2, 7-6 (6).

After seeing a double break evaporate in the decider, Paul somehow fought off a trio of match points in the decisive tie-break in ultimately reeling off the final five points. The No. 12 seed, who is still an outside contender to qualify for the Nitto ATP Finals, plays Botic van de Zandschulp next.

Earlier, Alex de Minaur rallied from match point down to send Andy Murray packing, 7-6 (5), 4-6, 7-5.