By Chris Oddo | @TheFanChild | Friday November 1, 2024
Paris has always been known as a critical tour stop with huge implications when it comes to the ATP Finals, and this year is no different.
Just ask Alex de Minaur.
The Aussie, in the midst of his best season as a professional, entered the race for the prestigious ATP year-end event this week by reaching the quarter-finals in Paris. De Minaur now sits eighth in the rankings, 25 points ahead of Andrey Rublev, and could move up to sixth, overtaking Casper Ruud and Novak Djokovic, if he beats Holger Rune in Paris today.
On Thursday in Paris, De Minaur posted a 5-7 6-2 6-3 win over Jack Draper to match his personal best single-season win total of 47 (also 2022). He will bid for his 250th career victory on Friday, which would make him only the second player born in or after 1999 to record as many victories, along with Jannik Sinner (255).
Keeping his Torino dream alive 😮💨@alexdeminaur ends Draper’s unbeaten run by winning 5-7 6-2 6-3 to reach the last 8 in Paris#RolexParisMasters pic.twitter.com/1nhw4NbRoy
— Tennis TV (@TennisTV) October 31, 2024
The 25-year-old has been dealing with a serious groin injury, which he suffered at Wimbledon, in the second half of the season, but it has not slowed his progress materially.
De Minaur is aiming to become the first Australian player to qualify for the ATP Finals since Lleyton Hewitt in 2004.
In January, the world No. 10 became the first Austrian man to hold a Top-10 ranking since Hewitt in 2006. He peaked at sixth in the rankings after Wimbledon, but could go higher in the future not too distant.
