Follow us on Google Discover Alex de Minaur enjoyed a much more straightforward win in the second round of the Paris Masters compared to his opening victory.
Following a tough three-set battle against Gabriel Diallo in the first round, de Minaur beat 10th seed Karen Khachanov in straight sets, 6-2, 6-2.
The Australian wrapped up the contest with the 2018 Paris Masters champion in just 67 minutes to advance to the quarterfinals.
De Minaur is still in search of his first Masters title, having only reached one final at the level before, which came at the 2023 Canadian Open.
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With world number one Carlos Alcaraz bowing out in the early stages of the tournament, the top half of the draw is wide open, and de Minaur has a golden opportunity to finally achieve the feat in the French capital.
Along with the triumph over Khachanov, the world number six received even more good news after the match.
Alex de Minaur reacts to qualifying for the ATP Finals in Turin
De Minaur’s win saw him tally enough points to qualify for the ATP Finals in November, becoming the seventh player to punch his ticket to Turin.
He has now booked his place in the year-end tournament for the second year in a row, but de Minaur said he was unaware of his accomplishment after overcoming Khachanov.
“I had no idea,” he said in an interview with Tennis Channel. “I mean, it was the best news I have got in a long, long time.
“No, I had no idea. Of course, there’s so much chatter. The last three, four weeks of the year, that’s what everyone’s talking about.
“So there’s a lot of stress, so I did my best not to pay attention as much as I could, but yeah, I had no idea that securing that win was enough [to qualify], so yeah, it was a lot of relief and I’m very, very happy with that.”
Alex de Minaur surpasses an Australian tennis great in Paris
De Minaur’s win against Khachanov marked his 46th ATP Masters 1000 hard-court victory.
He surpassed two-time Grand Slam finalist Mark Philippoussis to have the third highest tally among Australian players since the introduction of the Masters format in 1990.
The 26-year-old needs just 16 more wins on hard court at ATP 1000 level to match Patrick Rafter’s total, though it will take him much longer to equal Lleyton Hewitt’s sum of 91.
In the quarterfinals, de Minaur will take on Alexander Bublik, whom he leads 3-1 in their head-to-head.