By Chris Oddo | @TheFanChild | Wednesday October 30, 2024
World No.85 Cazaux thrilled the crowd with a near perfect performance against Ben Shelton.
Photo Source: TTV
Arthur Cazaux sent the French crowd home smiling on Wednesday night as he polished off Ben Shelton 6-3, 7-6(4) to book his spot in the round of 16 at the Rolex Paris Masters.
Cazaux hit 20 winners against just seven unforced errors, and saved the only break point he faced to earn his second Top-20 win.
He joins Adrian Mannarino, Arthur Fils, Ugo Humbert and Arthur Rinderknech in the round of 16 in Paris.
A lucky loser who entered the draw when Jannik Sinner was ruled out due to illness, Cazaux will face Holger Rune in the second round.
Shelton, ranked 19th, wasn’t the only player to fall prey to the upset bug. World No.4 Daniil Medvedev was defeated by Australia’s Alexei Popyrin in the first match on Centre Court, 6-4, 2-6, 7-6(4).
Popyrin recorded his eighth Top-20 win of the season. He will face Karen Khachanov in the round of 16.
In other action, Alex de Minaur defeated Miomir Kecmanovic, while Grigor Dimitrov topped Tomas Martin Etcheverry. Both players are on the outside looking in when it comes to qualifying for the ATP Finals in Turin, but they can make up more ground tomorrow, as the three players ahead of them - Novak Djokovic (did not play), Casper Ruud (lost to Jordan Thompson in round two) and Andrey Rublev (lost to Francisco Cerundolo in round two) - cannot gain any points.
All eight round of 16 contests will take place tomorrow in Paris.