Paul Boosts Turin Hopes, Dimitrov Advances In Shanghai

Tommy Paul boosted his slim Nitto ATP Finals qualification hopes on Monday at the Rolex Shanghai Masters, where he defeated #NextGenATP Frenchman Arthur Fils 6-4, 6-7(7), 6-4 to reach the fourth round.

In a hard-fought clash, the American recovered from squandering two match points in the second-set tie-break, responding with consistent baseline play in the deciding set to advance after two hours and 40 minutes.

Paul is currently 11th in the Pepperstone ATP Live Race To Turin on 2,525 points, trailing eighth-placed Holger Rune by 585 points. The 26-year-old is aiming to make his debut at the prestigious year-end event.

Paul has advanced to at least the fourth round at all hard-court ATP Masters 1000 events this season (Indian Wells, Miami, Toronto SFs, Cincinnati, Shanghai). He will aim to reach his second Masters 1000 quarter-final of the year when he takes on Andrey Rublev or Adrian Mannarino.

In other action, Grigor Dimitrov reached the fourth round at a Masters 1000 for the first time since Paris in 2022. The Bulgarian moved past World No. 14 Karen Khachanov 7-6(6), 6-4 to earn his sixth Top 20 win of the season.

The 18th seed saved one set point in the first set at 5/6 in the tie-break, before winning 17 of his 19 first-serve points in the second set to advance after one hour and 57 minutes.

"I think the first set was very close on both ends," Dimitrov said. "I think I had the edge early on and in the match. I thought I was controlling a lot but somehow he was coming back. Great serves, great movement, great shots, but I had to stay focused and that was the most important thing. When I had opportunities to be more aggressive I had to do it."

Dimitrov now leads Khachanov 3-0 in the pair’s Lexus ATP Head2Heads series and will next face top seed Carlos Alcaraz or Daniel Evans.