Sam Querrey’s out of the running. Kevin Anderson and Jo-Wilfried Tsonga just got eliminated today.
That’s three of the hopefuls for the last remaining spots at the Nitto ATP Finals in London gone, due to early losses in Paris. The surprising results have eased the path for players on the bubble, like Juan Martin del Potro and Lucas Pouille.
Paris, the last regular-season stop for the men, comes with opportunity and pressure for a handful of players on the verge of qualifying for the year-end championship.
Here’s a look at four players who’ve managed to extend their season after big performances in the French capital.
Thomas Enqvist, 1996
The Swede, who entered Paris as the No. 12 seed, captured his first “Super 9” title with a straight-sets win over Yevgeny Kafelnikov. The victory pushed him back into the Top 10 and an alternate spot at the ATP World Tour Championships in Hanover, Germany. He made an appearance in the round-robin stage, replacing Andre Agassi, and went 1-1.
Greg Rusedski, 1998
A year after reaching his first Grand Slam final at the US Open, Rusedski won the biggest title of his career in Paris in 1998. The No. 13 seed only dropped one set on the way to the final, and then beat defending champion Pete Sampras in straight sets.
Sebastian Grosjean, 2001
A two-time Grand Slam semifinalist in 2001, the Frenchman was on the cusp of qualifying for the Tennis Masters Cup in Sydney. He eliminated Tommy Haas, one of the contenders for the last spot, in the Paris semis and clinched his Sydney berth with a win over Kafelnikov in the final. Grosjean rode his good form through Sydney and reached the final, falling to Lleyton Hewitt.
Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, 2008