Paris: American fifth seed Ben Shelton beat Russia’s Andrey Rublev 7-6 (8-6), 6-3 on Thursday to book his spot in the quarterfinals of the Paris Masters.
The 23-year-old will next face either Francisco Cerundolo or Jannik Sinner.
Shelton edged a tight opening set against 12th seed Rublev after nearly an hour on court.
The big-serving Toronto Masters champion then secured the first break of the match in the seventh game of the second set to close in on victory.
Shelton engineered several match points in Rublev’s next service game, before eventually converting at the third time of asking.
Canada’s Felix Auger-Aliassime booked his place in the quarterfinals as he came from behind for the third time in as many matches in Paris to beat German Daniel Altmaier 3-6, 6-3, 6-2.
The ninth seed is currently one spot outside the last ATP Finals berth, which is occupied by Lorenzo Musetti, who lost Wednesday to fellow Italian Lorenzo Sonego. That result coupled with an Auger-Alissime run to the title-decider in Paris would send the 25-year-old above Musetti in the race to Turin.
Moreover, Cameron Norrie beat Valentin Vacherot 7-6, 6-4. Agencies
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