PARIS: Jannik Sinner beat Francisco Cerundolo 7-5, 6-1 in the third round of the Paris Masters on Thursday to extend his indoor winning streak to 23 matches and maintain his chances of reclaiming the No. 1 ranking.
The four-time Grand Slam champion needs to win the tournament to take the top spot from Carlos Alcaraz. Sinner’s quarterfinal opponent on Friday will be Ben Shelton.
The fifth-seeded American beat 12th-seeded Andrey Rublev 7-6 (6), 6-3 to secure his place in the eight-man, season-ending ATP Finals in Turin, Italy.
Sinner is chasing a fifth title of the year and 23rd overall. He won an ATP 500 tournament in Vienna last Sunday despite having cramps.
“Hopefully, I can recover physically, which is my main priority” Sinner said ahead of his eighth match against Shelton. “Today was a great match and a great performance from my side.”
He leads Shelton 6-1 overall.
Later Thursday, defending champion Alexander Zverev played Alejandro Davidovich Fokina.
Vacherot keeps going
There seems to be no stopping Valentin Vacherot, who reached another Masters quarterfinal by beating Cameron Norrie 7-6 (4), 6-4.
Already this month, Vacherot made a stunning run from the qualifiers to win the Shanghai Masters for his first career title. He downed 24-time Grand Slam champion Novak Djokovic in the semifinals and beat his own cousin Arthur Rinderknech in the final.
“I never expected it,” Vacherot said. “Good thing that I keep going here, maybe enjoying the matches even more than in Shanghai.”
The 40th-ranked Vacherot, who is from Monaco, beat Rinderknech again in the second round here in Paris, setting up a match against Norrie after the British player eliminated Alcaraz.
Vacherot had five aces and saved all five break points against Norrie, who dropped serve once.
Vacherot next faces ninth-seeded Felix Auger-Aliassime, who rallied past Daniel Altmaier 3-6, 6-3, 6-2. Victory maintained Auger-Aliassime’s chances of reaching the eight-man, season-ending ATP Finals in Turin, Italy.
Other matches
Fourth-seeded American Taylor Fritz lost 7-6 (5), 6-2 to No. 13 seed Alexander Bublik; No. 6 Alex De Minaur won 6-2, 6-2 against 2018 champion Karen Khachanov; and 2020 champion Daniil Medvedev reached his 25th Masters quarterfinal with a 3-6, 7-6 (5), 6-4 win over Lorenzo Sonego.
Race to Turin
De Minaur qualified for the ATP Finals for the second consecutive season and Shelton for the first time, leaving one spot left.
Auger-Aliassime will leapfrog Lorenzo Musetti only if he reaches the final in Paris.
Sinner reaches Paris Masters quarterfinals and stays on course to reclaim the No. 1 ranking
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Sinner reaches Paris Masters quarterfinals and stays on course to reclaim the No. 1 ranking
- The four-time Grand Slam champion needs to win the tournament to take the top spot from Alcaraz
- Sinner’s quarterfinal opponent on Friday will be Ben Shelton
Southampton’s stunning fightback leaves Leicester in turmoil
LONDON: Southampton made an incredible late comeback from three goals down to beat crisis club Leicester 4-3 in the Championship on Tuesday.
Leicester interim manager Andy King looked set for his first victory since taking charge after first-half goals from Divine Mukasa, Patson Daka and Abdul Fatawu at the King Power Stadium.
But Southampton substitute Ross Stewart reduced the deficit in the 61st minute to spark the astonishing revival.
Leicester’s brittle confidence was exposed as Jack Stephens netted in the 82nd minute and Ryan Manning equalized five minutes later.
Shea Charles struck six minutes into stoppage time to snatch the points for Southampton in dramatic fashion, leaving King’s shell-shocked side without a win in six games.
Seven years after thrashing Southampton 9-0 at St. Mary’s, Leicester hit a devastating low of their own against the Saints.
Still searching for a permanent manager following Marti Cifuentes’ sacking, Leicester are outside the relegation zone only on goal difference.
The Foxes were recently deducted six points by the Football League for breaches of financial regulations.
Birmingham missed the chance to move into the play-off places after they were held to a 0-0 draw by West Bromwich Albion at St. Andrew’s.
New West Brom boss Eric Ramsay remains winless but claimed a second successive draw to help his side move two points above the relegation zone.
Mohamed Toure hit a hat-trick as Norwich made it five wins from their last six matches with a 3-0 victory at second-bottom Oxford.
