Frances Tiafoe advances to Paris Masters quarter-final over de Minaur

Alex de Minaur upset Daniil Medvedev in stellar fashion yesterday but failed to do the same against Tiafoe today as the American won 6-3 7-6(5).

It was a very interesting match between Tiafoe and de Minaur where the American once again demonstrated he is far removed from the Tiafoe of past years. There is a dose of seriousness and determination in his game that has elevated him among the best.

He showed it today as well as he took apart the game of de Minaur in a way that Medvedev and Korda were not able to. He hit six aces in the opening set adding 16 winners and only six unforced errors. de Minaur had fewer errors but also did not have enough winners to challenge the American.

The Australian played much better in the second set taking more risks and it worked in his favour for a while. He took a 5-3 lead which was a chance to send the match into the 3rd set but he failed to do so as Tiafoe broke back and the match went into a tiebreak.

In the tiebreak, Tiafoe proved slightly better taking it 7-5 and advancing to the quarter-finals. A late finish in round one and a 3-hour clash with Medvedev left him without enough energy to fight a very energetic Tiafoe.