Taylor Fritz kept his name in the running for a last-chance spot at the ATP season finale with a 7-5, 6-2 first-round win on Monday at the Paris Masters.
The winner of last month’s Tokyo 500 series title stands provisional eighth in the race to the eight-man ATP Finals in Turin from November 13.
The American would need to reach the Sunday title match at the Bercy arena to have a chance of punching his ticket.
Fritz put out Spain’s Alejandro Davidovich Fokina with just 11 winners to 20 for his beaten opponent.
“Right now I’m just focused on playing myself into the tournament,” the ninth-seeded winner said. .
“Any time this year that I’ve won a couple of matches in a tournament, then I’ve done well. So I’ll just try to focus on these early rounds.
“Turin is still in the picture, obviously, but there’s not much else I really could have done.
“I won Tokyo… (seventh standing rival) Felix (Auger-Aliassime) has played really, really well, so he deserves it, but I am going to try to steal his spot this week for sure.“
Fritz ended with five breaks of Davidovich Fokina from 10 chances in the 90-minute victory.
