Rolex Paris Masters: Quentin Halys' victory qualifies Arthur Fils for the Masters, a first for a Frenchman in 10 years

The Frenchman Arthur Fils qualified for his first Masters (November 15-22 in Turin) after the victory of his compatriot Quentin Halys (46th in the world) over the American Frances Tiafoe (8th) 6-3, 1-6, 7-6 (11/9), Wednesday in the second round of the Masters 1000 in Paris.

Son, 22 years old and 7th in the world, the best ranking of his career, is the first Frenchman to reach the Masters since Gaël Monfils in 2016. He is guaranteed to finish among the eight best players of the season, Jannik Sinner excepted (forfeit), like Alexander Zverev (1st), Carlos Alcaraz (3rd), Ben Shelton (4th), Daniil Medvedev (5th) and Flavio Cobolli (6th).

Fils, who faces the Czech Tomas Machac in Paris on Wednesday, from qualifying, became in August, by winning the Masters 1000 in Cincinnati, the first Frenchman since Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in 2014 to win a tournament in this category.

Halys, 30 years old (46th), won the biggest victory of his career, his second against a member of the top 10 after that against Andrey Rublev in Dubai in February 2025. After erasing four match points, including one on a winning serve on the second ball, he finished at the net on his first opportunity (11-9), and will face in the eighth the American Tommy Paul (14th) or the Spaniard Daniel Merida (42nd).