Turin contenders Alexander Zverev, Hubert Hurkacz survive Paris openers; Fritz withdraws

Alexander Zverev and Hubert Hurkacz each won three-setters Tuesday at the Rolex Paris Masters in their continued quest to punch a ticket to the Nitto ATP Finals. But Taylor Fritz’s bid to make it to Turin ended after he withdrew ahead of his second-round match with an abdominal injury.

Zverev, who started the 1000-level tournament in a qualifying position at No. 7 in the race to Turin, was forced to play from behind. The No. 10 seed rallied to defeat qualifier Marton Fucsovics, 4-6, 7-5, 6-4. Zverev broke Fucsovics from 40-15 down to put the match on his racquet and then shut the door to prevail after two hours and 38 minutes.

The German currently holds a 250-point lead over Holger Rune, the No. 8 player in the race. Zverev improved to 11-5 lifetime at this event, having previously contested the 2020 final and advancing to the semifinals in 2021.

Among those hoping to surpass Rune this week is Hurkacz. Surging to No. 9 on the Turin leaderboard thanks to his Shanghai triumph earlier this month and last weekend’s runner-up finish in Basel, Hurkacz stayed hot by getting the better of Sebastian Korda again.

Having ended the 23-year-old’s run, 6-3, 6-4, in the Shanghai semifinals, Hurkacz was forced to go the distance this time around after coming out of the losing end of an eerie second set fit for Halloween. Having initially failed to serve out the clash at 5-4, Hurkacz had a second chance to walk off the court in straight sets.

He erased an 0-5 deficit in the tie-break by winning six successive points, but in one final twist, Korda claimed the final three points—saving match point in the process.

Hurkacz channeled his inner Novak Djokovic by giving himself a classic pep talk in between sets. The 11th seed went on to convert the only break point chance for either player in the decider.

“I wasn’t too happy with that result of the second set. Sebi played some really good shots. He’s such a great player,” recounted Hurkacz to Tennis Channel’s Prakash Amritraj.

“I was disappointed with the way the set ended, took a bathroom break, looked at myself in the mirror and I’m like, ‘OK, let’s do this, come on. You’re gonna give it all, try your best and win or lose, go out there and battle as hard as you can.’”

Fritz had hoped to get back to the Nitto ATP Finals for a second year running. Sitting in 10th, the top-ranked American won his opener Monday over Sebastian Baez, but had taken a medical timeout during the second set to address the aggravated area in his abdomen. Daniel Altmaier, a 6-2, 6-4 winner over Arthur Fils, received a walkover into the third round.

Second seed Carlos Alcaraz and home favorite Gael Monfils were among the competitors due to play later Tuesday.