Alex de Minaur leapfrogs Andrey Rublev for eighth ATP Finals spot, halts Jack Draper in Paris

At the Erste Bank Open, Alex de Minaur was matter of fact when discussing with TENNIS.com his chances of making a maiden trip to the Nitto ATP Finals following a nagging hip injury.

“I have to be on my best, bring my best game and hopefully get some wins under my belt because there's not a lot of opportunities left,” he said.

The top-ranked Australian has achieved just that a week later, moving into a qualifying position thanks to his perofrmance at the Rolex Paris Masters. On Thursday, De Minaur avenged his US Open quarterfinal defeat to Jack Draper, rallying for a 5-7, 6-2, 6-3 victory to reach the quarterfinals.

With the effort, the 25-year-old has leapfrogged Andrey Rublev for the No. 8 spot in the race to Turin. If he advances to the semifinals, De Minaur will overtake Novak Djokovic and Casper Ruud to improve his odds even further. Both Rublev and Ruud were eliminated in their openers Tuesday, while Djokovic withdrew ahead of the event.

Grigor Dimitrov and Stefanos Tsitsipas are still in the running to shake up the race leaderboard themselves, with the Greek earlier booking his place in the last eight with his own three-set comeback over Francisco Cerundolo. Dimitrov is due to take the court for the final match of the night against local hopeful Arthur Rinderknech.

After failing to serve out the opening set, Draper—the incoming Vienna title holder—laced a forehand winner down the line at 6-5, 30-30. De Minaur, who had problems overhitting his forehand, once again pushed one long to fall behind.

A loose game from the Brit saw De Minaur strike first in set two. Up 3-2, De Minaur saved a break point to maintain his advantage and then pulled away to force a decider.

The returner won three of the first five games to start the winner-take-all set. De Minaur held the upper hand after getting the re-break at love—and charged ahead to up his record against the left-hander to 4-1.

De Minaur is through to his second Masters 1000 quarterfinal of the year, following Monte Carlo. He awaits 2022 champion Holger Rune or French lucky loser Arthur Cazaux. The Sydney native is aiming to become the first man from his nation to qualify for the ATP Finals in twenty years, after mentor Lleyton Hewitt.