"He played very well. He made few mistakes, he often made the right choice... I had my chances of winning the match, but I couldn't take them and he was able to maintain enough pressure on me at the end to win", analyzed the Russian, world No.3, after his defeat 6-4, 2-6, 7-5.

He indeed saved two match points but could not prevent the Australian (25th) from joining in the round of 16 the American Frances Tiafoe (21st), semi-finalist of the last US Open and who got rid of the Briton Jack Draper (45th) 6-3, 7-5.

De Minaur, 23, had never beaten a Top 5 player before and had suffered 18 defeats against this group of players before beating Medvedev.

The latter, strong this year with two titles (Los Cabos and Vienna) and three finals including one at the Australian Open, was qualified for the end-of-year Masters in Turin (November 13-20) even before the Parisian tournament.

The other surprise of the day almost came from the small short annex N.1, where Félix Auger-Aliassime could have bitten the dust.

Auger-Aliassime got hot

Arrived on an impressive series of three titles in three weeks (Florence, Antwerp, Basel), the Canadian almost did not win his 14th victory in a row, as the Swede Mikael Ymer (74th and from qualifications) stood up to him .

Finally, Auger-Aliassime won 6-7 (6/8), 6-4, 7-6 (8/6) in 3:30 after being down 4-1 in the second set with break points at wipe off.

"I found a second wind after saving those break points at 4-1. I played better and better, I moved better and better, I served a lot better," admitted the 22-year-old. .

"But it was epic: 3:30 on the court, quality points, he made me work all the time. It's definitely a win I won't forget," he said. .

FAA remains the player best placed to win one of the last two tickets for the Turin Masters.

He could face in the round of 16 one of his direct opponents for qualification for the Masters tournament, the American Taylor Fritz (11th).

Effective Alcaraz

The latter faces at the end of the afternoon the Frenchman Gilles Simon (188th) who will retire at the end of the Bercy tournament.

The Spaniard Carlos Alcaraz during his victorious match against the Japanese Yoshihito Nishioka, at the Masters 1000 in Paris, November 2, 2022 Christophe ARCHAMBAULT AFP

Stefanos Tsitsipas and Carlos Alcaraz have made a perfect entry into the tournament.

The Greek (5th) only took 1h20 to dismiss the Briton Daniel Evans (27th) 6-3, 6-4.

At 24, he has never passed the quarters at Bercy (2019), a stage he will try to join by facing another Briton, Cameron Norrie (13th), or the Frenchman Corentin Moutet (64th) on Thursday.

As for Alcaraz, it took them less than an hour and a quarter to return the Japanese Yoshihito Nishioka (38th) to the locker room 6-4, 6-4.

The youngest world No.1 in history, ascended to the throne at 19 after his title at the US Open in September, struck his opponent thirty winning blows, including nine aces.

"I think I played really well," he soberly analyzed, a year after a crushing defeat against Frenchman Hugo Gaston in the round of 16.

For his part, Rafael Nadal (2nd) will play his first tournament match on Wednesday evening since his defeat in the round of 16 in New York and the birth of his first child, against the American Tommy Paul (31st).

© 2022 AFP