De Minaur stuns Medvedev at Paris Masters

Sports

PARIS — Alex de Minaur upset fourth-seeded Daniil Medvedev 6-4, 2-6, 7-5 in the second round of the Paris Masters on Wednesday.

After rallying from a 2-0 deficit in the final set, De Minaur failed to convert his first two match points at 5-4. He hit a return out on the first match point and made an unforced error on the second.

But the Australian got two more chances at 6-5. Medvedev saved the third match point with a service winner before double-faulting on the fourth and angrily throwing his racket to the ground.

Medvedev, who won the Paris Masters in 2020 and was runner-up last year, dropped serve in the first set by overhitting a smash in the final game. But the Russian capitalized on unforced errors by De Minaur to break twice in the second set.

De Minaur will next play Frances Tiafoe, who beat Jack Draper 6-3, 7-5.

In other second-round matches, fifth-seeded Stefanos Tsitsipas beat Daniel Evans 6-3, 6-4 to lead the ATP tour with 58 wins this year while Lorenzo Musetti defeated Nikoloz Basilashvili 6-4, 6-2. Musetti next faces third-seeded Casper Ruud.

Tsitsipas raced to a 3-0 lead in the first set. He then hit a forehand winner across court to break Evans in the opening game of the second, before converting his first match point with an ace.

“I’m happy with the level of tennis I brought when I had to,” Tsitsipas said. “I was moving well, I was dictating well. I combined everything, including my defense, the transition to offense. I was serving well, I was very calm in important moments, and it paid off.”