ATP Paris: Diego Schwartzman moves closer to join Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal at..

The 6th seed Diego Schwartzman is through to his 5th Masters 1000 quarter-final in Paris, beating a qualifier Alejandro Davidovich Fokina 6-1, 6-1 in an hour! Thus, the Argentine has moved a victory away from securing the place at the ATP Finals for the first time, with Stan Wawrinka as his only rival for that final London ticket. Schwartzman defeated Davidovich Fokina for the third time from as many encounters in 2020, controlling the scoreboard from start to finish to march into the last eight. The Argentine saved all four break chances to keep service games intact, stealing 65% of the return points to grab five breaks and sail over the finish line. Davidovich Fokina never found the rhythm, hitting eight winners and 32 unforced mistakes and losing ground in the shortest and most extended exchanges. Diego fended off those four break points in the encounter's opening game to avoid an early setback, securing a break at 15 in game two and holding at 30 with a forehand winner that sent him 3-0 up.

Schwartzman picked a break at love in game six following a forehand error from the Spaniard, closing the opener with a service winner a few minutes later for 6-1. Davidovich Fokina landed a backhand long in the first game of the second set to give serve away, falling 3-0 behind after another loose forehand. The youngster netted a backhand in the seventh game to suffer another break and push Schwartzman over the finish line after precisely an hour. The 3rd seed Daniil Medvedev defeated Alex de Minaur 5-7, 6-2, 6-2 in an hour and 51 minutes, dominating sets two and three for the fifth quarter-final of the season.

Diego Schwartzman is a victory away from the ATP Finals.

With no room for errors, the Russian lost only nine points behind the initial shot after the opener, raising his level and leaving de Minaur far behind to remain on the title course. Medvedev suffered two breaks in the opener and scored five return games, four of those in sets two and three when he toppled the Aussie for a strong finish.

De Minaur failed to return 27% of Medvedev's serves, losing ground in the shortest rallies up to four strokes and finishing his run in the third round. Daniil sent a wild forehand in the 12th game of the opening set to hand it to his opponent, producing much stronger tennis in set number two, on both serve and return. He broke Alex in games one and five and landed a service winner at 5-2 to bring a decider. There, the Russian rattled off five straight games and moved over the top with a hold at love at 5-2 for the place in the last eight. The 22-year-old Ugo Humbert came to Paris with two Masters 1000 victories from Rome, improving his tally at the home event and reaching the first quarter-final at this level thanks to a 6-3, 6-7, 6-3 win over Marin Cilic in two hours and 24 minutes. The youngster blasted 19 aces and lost serve once, earning three on the return to seal the deal and stay in the tournament.

from Tennis World USA https://ift.tt/3k3sy8L