The Rolex Paris Masters delivered another busy Thursday of round-of-16 matches, and the United States left with a strong footprint in the last eight. According to the ATP Tour’s official results roundup and the live bracket on the ATP scores page, Ben Shelton, Taylor Fritz and Tommy Paul all won, Carlos Alcaraz advanced by walkover, and qualifier Rinky Hijikata continued his surprise run. LiveTennis and the tournament schedule filled in the quarterfinal pairings for Friday.

Thursday’s round-of-16 results

Here are the verified men’s singles results from Thursday, November 5, as listed by the ATP:

  • Ben Shelton (3) d Arthur Rinderknech 3-6, 6-4, 7-6(5)
  • Taylor Fritz (11) d Arthur Fils (6) 6-3, 6-4
  • Tommy Paul (12) d Quentin Halys 7-6(3), 6-4
  • Luca Van Assche d Lorenzo Musetti 7-5, 3-6, 6-4
  • Casper Ruud d Jan-Lennard Struff 6-3, 6-3
  • Rinky Hijikata (Q) d Tomas Martin Etcheverry 2-6, 6-3, 7-5
  • Nuno Borges (LL) d Ignacio Buse 6-0, 6-2
  • Carlos Alcaraz (2) advanced when Matteo Berrettini withdrew (walkover)

What stood out

Shelton dropped the first set to home favorite Rinderknech before winning a final-set tiebreak. Fritz’s straight-sets win over Fils was especially meaningful for the Race to Turin: LiveTennis noted that a Fritz loss would have put Frances Tiafoe into the ATP Finals, while Fils had already qualified. Paul beat Halys in two tight sets. Hijikata, who beat Novak Djokovic on Wednesday, came from a set down again. Van Assche ended Musetti’s run one day after Musetti had toppled world No. 1 Alexander Zverev.

Friday’s quarterfinal slate

The tournament site lists these quarterfinals on Court Central:

  • Ben Shelton (3) vs Tommy Paul (12)
  • Luca Van Assche vs Rinky Hijikata (Q)
  • Taylor Fritz (11) vs Carlos Alcaraz (2)
  • Casper Ruud vs Nuno Borges (LL)

An all-American semifinal is possible if Shelton and Paul both win. Fritz’s meeting with Alcaraz is the headline night match on paper.

Race to Turin snapshot

LiveTennis published a live Race table dated November 6 showing six men already qualified, with Sinner out for the season and the last Turin places still in flux. Fritz and Paul remain in contention through these quarterfinals; exact points can move with each match, so treat race standings as a moving target until the tournament ends on November 8.

How we got here this week

Wednesday’s round of 32 already reshaped the draw. Hijikata’s win over Djokovic and Musetti’s upset of Zverev removed two of the tournament’s biggest names before the second week fully arrived. Thursday confirmed that the chaos was not a one-day story: a lucky loser (Borges), a qualifier (Hijikata) and a French wild-card run by Van Assche all reached the quarters alongside seeded Americans and Alcaraz.

Indoor hard courts in Paris often reward first-strike tennis and composure in tiebreaks. Shelton’s final-set tiebreak and Paul’s opening-set breaker both fit that pattern. Fritz’s straight-sets win over Fils was cleaner, but it still required him to manage a home crowd that had come to celebrate Fils’ first ATP Finals qualification.

What fans should watch Friday

The Shelton-Paul quarterfinal is an American showcase with Turin implications for Paul. Van Assche against Hijikata is the wildest bracket story: a Frenchman who just beat Musetti versus the qualifier who just beat Djokovic and Etcheverry. Fritz-Alcaraz is the starring evening match. Ruud against Borges closes a bracket that looked improbable at the start of the week.

The bottom line

Paris still has three days of tennis left, but Thursday clarified the shape of the final weekend: three Americans in the quarters, a qualifier still alive, and Alcaraz waiting for Fritz. We will follow Friday’s results as they become official.

Image: Tennis Court, Central Park (NYPL b11708959-G92F019 010ZF) by Scan by NYPL via Wikimedia Commons, Public Domain Mark 1.0