Seeded Rafael Nadal came from behind to beat Feliciano Lopez and advance to the third round of the Paris Masters with his 1000th ATP in a single Victoire du Tour
Spaniard Nadal, who played for the first time since his triumph at Roland Garros, hit back to beat compatriot Lopez 4-6 7-6 (7-5) 6-4 in just over two hours and a half Wednesday
The victory saw world number two Nadal, 34, become the fourth player in the open era to reach the milestone – joining Jimmy Connors, Roger Federer and Ivan Lendl on the exclusive roster
« Reaching this figure is because I have been playing well for many years and it is something that makes me happy, » Nadal told reporters at a virtual press conference
« I know it’s a very special number, 1000 Even if it’s not the same to celebrate something like that without a crowd, I take advantage of it with ATP, with the president of the French Federation (tennis), Guy Forget, supervisor and the ball boys
« I appreciate it and can just say thank you to everyone for making this moment a little more special »
Nadal will face Jordan Thompson in the round of 16 after the Australian came out of a set to beat Croatia’s Borna Coric 2-6 6-4 6-2
Thompson, 26, currently ranked fourth in Australia, stormed home after being dragged by a set and a break in second to win in two and a quarter hours
Alex De Minaur’s recent good form continued, beating in-form Italian Lorenzo Sonego 6-3 7-5
No from Australia 1 male player, who reached the final of the Antwerp Open in his last European outing last month, took an hour and 27 minutes to subdue Sonego
World Non25 will have to overtake third seed Daniil Medvedev to qualify for the quarter-finals
The Russian was leading 5-2 in the first-set tiebreaker when his South African opponent, Kevin Anderson, had to retire with a right leg injury
Elsewhere, Frenchman Ugo Humbert surprised second seed Stefanos Tsitsipas 7-6 (7-4) 6-7 (8-6) 7-6 (7-3) and has Marin Cilic on the side
12th seed Stan Wawrinka defeated Tommy Paul, coming from behind to beat the American 4-6 7-6 (7-3) 6-2, and will face Andrey Rublev who sawed Radu Albot 6-1 6 -2
Germany’s Alexander Zverev took just 55 minutes to defeat Serbian Miomir Kecmanovic 6-2 6-2 and set up a meeting with Adrian Mannarino who outlasted Yoshihito Nishioka 6-3 6-7 (7-5 ) 6-3
Argentina’s Diego Schwartzman got off to a good start in his bid to advance to the season-ending ATP Finals with a 7-5 6-3 win over Frenchman Richard Gasquet
Masters of Paris, Daniil Medvedev, Alex de Minaur, Tennis, Rafael Nadal, Alexander Zverev, Association of Tennis Professionals, Lorenzo Sonego
News from the world – AU – Nadal, De Minaur, Thompson win in Paris
SOURCE: https://www.w24news.com