Paris, France, 30 October 2024 | Jackson Mansell

Casper Ruud’s woes against Australians continues as Jordan Thompson has struck again to defeat the world No.8 for the third time this season.

Thompson extended Ruud’s record against Australians on a hard court to 3-8 following a 7-6(3) 3-6 6-4 win, which booked his spot in the third round of the Paris Masters.

“Thankfully I’m playing him on hard court and not clay because that was one-way traffic last time,” Thompson told TennisTV. “The last couple of times it’s been on hard court and managed to get the better of him but it’s definitely my better surface.

“I think my ball is a little bit flatter. It doesn’t give him enough time to wind up on both groundstrokes, but he’s playing good on hard court too and I’ve managed to get the better of him a couple of times.”

Thompson – who also beat Ruud in the Los Cabos final in February and in Tokyo last month – was the first Australian through to the third round in Paris. He will play either Zizou Bergs or Adrian Mannarino next.

https://twitter.com/TennisTV/status/1851394085623378266

An impressive start from Alex de Minaur and a missed opportunity from Andrey Rublev have heightened the Aussie’s chances of making his ATP Finals debut.

The world No.10 glided into the second round after he went into overdrive in the second set against Argentine Mariano Navone for a 7-5 6-1 victory. De Minaur now closes the buffer between him and Rublev to 125 points after the world No.7 lost to Francisco Cerundolo in the second round.

De Minaur must win his next two matches to book his ticket to Turin, and if successful, he would become the first Aussie since Lleyton Hewitt in 2004 to play in the ATP Finals.

The ninth seed must first find a way past Serbian Miomir Kecmanovic and would then need to defeat fifth seed Taylor Fritz or Jack Draper in the third round.

Alexei Popyrin made it three Australians still alive in Paris after he triumphed 7-5 7-6(2) over Italian Matteo Berrettini. The 25-year-old now faces fourth seed Daniil Medvedev in the second round.

> READ MORE: Aussie weekly wrap: Peers wins again in reunion with Murray

At the WTA 250 event in Merida, Mexico, Ajla Tomljanovic posted a dominant victory over American Elizabeth Mandlik. Despite being broken in the first game of the second set, Tomljanovic won six successive games to close out the match 7-6(9) 6-1 and booked a second-round meeting with Swiss Jil Teichmann.

Kimberly Birrell and Priscilla Hon advanced to the second round of the WTA 250 event in Hong Kong.

Birrell defeated former top-40 player Ana Bogdan 6-3 6-4 in almost two hours to set up a match against third seed Leylah Fernandez. The world No.115 is aiming to gain a double-digit ranking for the first time after she reached her maiden tour final in Osaka earlier this month.

Hon landed a 6-3 6-4 win over wildcard Eudice Wong Chong, which set a clash against top seed Diana Shnaider. Should she prevail against Shnaider, Hon will make her first quarterfinal at a WTA 250 event or higher since 2019.

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