Alex de Minaur has been handed a golden opportunity to qualify for the season-ending ATP Finals after Andrey Rublev suffered an ugly meltdown at the Paris Masters. Heading into the first round of the ATP 1000 event in Paris, de Minaur trailed Rublev in the race to the prestigious finals.

The Aussie is currently in ninth place, with only the top eight to qualify for the year-end tournament. But Rublev is the eighth-place player and suffered an extraordinary meltdown on Tuesday in a 7-6 (8-6) 7-6 (7-5) loss to Francisco Cerundolo.

Rublev made his knee bleed after striking it with his racquet a number of times, and went into self-destruct mode as he produced a number of outbursts at himself and the crowd. De Minaur later beat Mariano Navone 7-5 6-1 in just 89 minutes, and has now closed to within just 125 points of Rublev in the race to the ATP Finals.

If de Minaur can make the fourth round in Paris, he’ll unseat Rublev and surge into eight place. De Minaur has never played the ATP Finals, with the indoor event set to take place in Italy from November 10-17.

Taylor Fritz became the fifth player to qualify on Tuesday, joining Jannik Sinner, Carlos Alcaraz, Alexander Zverev and Daniil Medvedev in the field. Novak Djokovic is currently sixth in the race, while Casper Ruud is seventh.

De Minaur glided into the second round after hitting overdrive in the second set to sail past Navone. Fellow Aussie Alexei Popyrin also had a great day, beating Mario Berrettini 7-5 7-6 (7-2) to set up a clash with fourth seed Medvedev. But it was Rublev’s meltdown that was the talk of the tennis world, with many calling on the Russian to seek some help due to the recurring nature of his outbursts.

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Carlos Alcaraz and Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard grab wins

Alcaraz opened his campaign in Paris with a 7-5 6-1 win over Nicolas Jarry, showing some commanding form in the second set as he raced to victory. The 21-year-old Spaniard is the heavy favourite to win his first title on the hard court in Paris after Italian World No.1 Sinner withdrew from the tournament earlier on Tuesday due to an intestinal virus.

Earlier on Tuesday, big-serving Frenchman Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard hit 28 aces on his way to defeating Frances Tiafoe 6-7 (7-5) 7-6 (7-4) 6-3. Fresh from winning the title in Basel last week, Mpetshi Perricard also had 13 double-faults but never dropped his serve against the 14th-seeded American player.

Mpetshi Perricard converted his sole break point to win the first match of his career at a Masters 1000 tournament. The Frenchman, who started the year ranked 200th, rose to a career-high ranking of No.31 on Monday.

Mpetshi Perricard has now served 512 aces in just 27 matches this season. He will play Russian Karen Khachanov in the next round, who overcame Australia’s Christopher O’Connell 6-4 3-6 7-6 (8-6). It was a good day for local players in Paris, with Arthur Fils also progressing by edging Croatian Marin Cilic 7-6 (7-5) 6-4. He now meets Jan-Lennard Struff, who defeated Lorenzo Musetti 6-4 6-2.

with agencies