Tennis: Thompson downs Ruud again at Paris Masters

Jordan Thompson upset Casper Ruud at the Paris Masters on Tuesday, denting the world No.8’s hopes of qualifying for the ATP Finals.

Thompson showed his trademark tenacity in the 7-6 (3), 3-6, 6-4 victory, withstanding a barrage of aggressive tennis to defeat the Norwegian for the third time in 2024.

“I think my ball is a little bit flatter, it doesn’t give him as much time to wind up on both groundstrokes,” Thompson said after Ruud sprayed 53 unforced errors across the two-hour, 33-minute match.

“But he is playing good on hard courts too, I’ve just managed to get the better of him a couple of times.

“Today I found it a lot harder, he was hitting it a lot deeper and firmer, but thankfully I managed to pull through.”

Thompson is now an excellent chance of making his maiden Masters 1000 quarter-final, with his round-of-16 opponent to be the winner of lucky loser Zizou Bergs and wildcard Adrian Mannarino.

The Australian is still seen as a long shot for the title, however, with tennis betting sites paying $51 for him to lift the trophy.

Should Thompson make it to the quarter-finals, he would reach a career-high of No.26 in the world off the back of what has been his best-ever season on the ATP Tour.

Ruud will now need to rely on other results this week in order to make the ATP Finals this November.

The 25-year-old sits seventh in the Race to Turin but can be passed this week by Alex de Minaur, Grigor Dimitrov and Stefanos Tsitsipas, who are all still alive at the Paris Masters.

Russia’s Andrey Rublev also has a nervous wait, after the world No.7 lost to Francisco Cerundolo in twin tiebreakers, 7-6 (6), 7-6 (5).

He too could drop out of ATP Finals contention, with his eighth-place position under threat from de Minaur, Dimitrov and Tsitsipas as well.

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