A decider that refused to end
Quentin Halys beat Frances Tiafoe 6-3, 1-6, 7-6 (11-9) on Centre Court at the Rolex Paris Masters earlier today, and he did it the hard way. The Frenchman had to save four match points inside a final-set tie-break that dragged on for more than ten minutes.
It started like a rout. Halys broke twice to lead 4-0, held serve to love to close the first set 6-3, and looked in control against the seventh seed. Then the match flipped. Tiafoe won the second set 6-1 and broke Halys at the start of the third, then led 4-2 and 5-3.
Tiafoe served for the match at 5-4. Halys broke back with a backhand winner down the line, held for 6-5 and watched Tiafoe level at 6-6 to force the tie-break.
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Four match points, four escapes
Halys moved 4-1 ahead in the breaker with a mini-break, but Tiafoe reeled him in. From there the American held the edge on the scoreboard and Halys kept finding an answer. An ace saved the first match point at 6-6. A second-serve winner wiped out another at 8-8, and Tiafoe sent a forehand long on the fourth.
The finish came at 10-9. Tiafoe won a long rally but dropped his smash into the net, handing Halys a match point on his own serve. He took it at the net. It is only the second time the Frenchman has beaten a top-10 player, according to RMC Sport.
What it means
Halys moves into the third round of the Masters 1000. There was a knock-on effect elsewhere too: Tiafoe’s exit reshaped the race for the ATP Finals in Turin, and Arthur Fils was the one who benefited.
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