Paris Masters Round-Up: Fonseca downs Shapovalov for second consecutive week, Auger-Aliassime keeps Turin hopes alive

The first round of the Paris Masters has been fully defined, and some second-round matches were also played. The recent Shanghai Masters champion, Valentin Vacherot, returned to winning form, comfortably defeating the 14th seed Jiří Leheck, while Félix Auger-Aliassime continues in the race for the ATP Finals after overcoming Francisco Comesaña.

Additionally, the 19-year-old Brazilian Joao Fonseca extended his winning streak – after winning the title at the Swiss Indoors Basel – and defeated Denis Shapovalov in three sets for the second consecutive week.

The world No. 40 Valentin Vacherot needed a wildcard to enter the tournament – considering he did not have a high enough ranking at the time of the entry list cut. The Shanghai Masters champion took just 55 minutes to secure the victory against the Czech Jiří Lehecka (No. 18) 6-1, 6-3, in a notable return to winning. In the first set, he dominated from the start, taking two consecutive breaks and serving flawlessly to lead 5-0. Lehecka managed to defend his service game only once, but Vacherot did not hesitate to close the set 6-1, winning 76% of service points and 56% of return points.

In the second set, Vacherot's serve was even more precise, conceding barely two service points (89%) on his way to victory. The world No. 40 took a single break in the third game, which was enough to hold onto his serve for the rest of the match. Vacherot finished the victory winning a total of 82% of service points and did not concede any break points. In the second round, he will face his cousin Arthur Rinderknech – also with a wildcard – in a repetition of the Shanghai final.

Félix Auger-Aliassime (No. 10) started his Paris Masters campaign in good form, after defeating qualifier Francisco Comesaña (No. 68) 6-7(2), 6-3, 6-3. The Canadian had to fight for two hours and 20 minutes to overcome the Argentine and keep his possibility of accessing the ATP Finals alive.

In the first set, Auger-Aliassime recovered from a break down to send everything to the tie-break, but Comesaña remained more focused to take the set 7-6(2). A single break in the second set gave Auger-Aliassime the set 6-3. In the third set, neither found much effectiveness on their serve; Comesaña had one break, and Auger-Aliassime had three to take the victory in three sets, totaling 11 aces and an effectiveness of 84% of points won with the first serve. In the second round, he will face the Frenchman Alexandre Muller.

Joao Fonseca (No. 28) returned with a victory in Paris, just two days after winning the title in Basel – his first ATP 500. The Brazilian did not have it easy against Denis Shapovalov (No. 24), but ended up securing the win in three sets 5-7, 6-4, 6-3. They had faced each other in the Basel quarter-finals last Friday, where Fonseca advanced after Shapovalov retired while trailing 1-4 in the third set. This time, the Canadian was physically fit for the occasion, but was defeated again.

After a start with both being consistent on serve, Shapovalov took advantage of a single break opportunity in the 12th game to take the set 7-5. In the second set, Fonseca secured two breaks and served at 5-2 to close the set, but Shapovalov showed a slight reaction, recovering one of the breaks. Regardless, the Brazilian took advantage of his next service opportunity and sent everything to the decider.

It was there that an early break in the first game gave the South American the advantage, who maintained his composure with his serve – winning 81% of points with his serve – and ended up closing the win in three sets. In the next round, he will face the Russian, former Paris Masters champion, Karen Khachanov.

Ben Shelton debuted with a victory over the tricky Flavio Cobolli 7-6(4), 6-3 and secured his spot in the Round of 16 at the Paris Masters. The 5th seed recovered from a surprising loss in the Swiss Indoors second round against Munar, and was especially effective on serve. The American won 86% of first serve points and 71% with the second – against 81% and 61% respectively for Cobolli.

In a match without many break opportunities, Shelton took advantage in the important moments. The first set had no breaks and was decided by a single mini-break in favor of Shelton in the tie-break 7-6(4). In the second set, a single break was enough for Shelton midway through the set to take the lead and hold onto his serve. The world No. 7 will face the Russian Andrey Rublev (12th) in the third round.