Stefanos Tsitsipas booked a place in his fifth edition of the ATP Finals as he defeated longtime rival Alexander Zverev 7-6 (2), 6-4 on Thursday to reach the Paris Masters quarter-finals.
The victory in two hours guaranteed the Greek another year-end place form next Sunday in Turin at the event he won in 2019 in London.
Zverev remains – for now – on provisional seventh in the eight-man Italian field.
But he is chased by No. 8 and Paris holder Holger Rune plus Turin hopefuls including Hubert Hurkacz, who stayed in the season points chase with his 6-4, 6-3 over Francisco Cerundolo.
Also in the calculations: Australian Alex de Minaur, who got a walkover into the quarters when exhausted Jannik Sinner pulled out of their Thursday match due to fatigue from his 2:30 a.m. finish the night before.
The win was important psychologically for Tsitsipas who finally beat a Top 10 opponent after losing to the elite six times previously in 2023.
Tsitsipas will play for the semi-finals here against Karen Khachanov, who beat Roman Safiullin 4-6, 6-4, 6-2.
“I’ve put in a lot of hours on the court,’ Tsitsipas said. “I’ve been working on things – and I have a lot in my game to work on.
“I’m aiming for small improvements to give a little boost to my game. Hopefully these improvements will carry on for years to come.”
Tsitsipas claimed victory on a third match point as he fired his 10th ace of the afternoon. The Greek had 33 winners and 10 unforced errors.
Tsitsipas now leads the series with Zverev 9-4 as they compete against each other for a sixth consecutive season.
