Paris - 05/11

Good morning and welcome back to TIE-Breakfast: all the tennis you need with breakfast.

Ace Cream's daily newsletter during Masters 1000s and Grand Slams, every morning at 8:30.

Today is Thursday, November 5, and in Paris it is 08:30 and 5 degrees. Ok, here we go.

Today at Breakfast

• 🇮🇹 Musetti beats Zverev in his first match as No. 1
• 🇮🇹 Berrettini gets past Humbert, Alcaraz tonight
• 🇦🇺 Hijikata knocks out Djokovic, Buse takes out Medvedev
• 🇫🇷 Fils qualifies for Turin, Halys knocks out Tiafoe
• 🇺🇸 Today Fils takes on Fritz and Paul faces Halys, with Turin still at stake

WHAT HAPPENED:

🇮🇹 Musetti beats Zverev in his first match as No. 1

Lorenzo Musetti beat Alexander Zverev 7-6(5), 6-2 in one hour and 42 minutes, in the German's first match as world No. 1. In the first-set tie-break Musetti came back from 1-4, in the second he broke Zverev in the third and seventh games and closed it out with an ace. It is the second time in his career he has beaten a No. 1, after Djokovic in Monte Carlo in 2023, and he now leads the head-to-head with Zverev 4-2.

In the first set Zverev landed 43% of his first serves, and in the second he struggled on his second serve. Against such a fragile serve Musetti was able to attack the return and shorten points with drop shots, in other words play the tennis that suits him best. Today he faces Luca Van Assche, with the head-to-head at 1-1.

🇮🇹 Berrettini gets past Humbert, Alcaraz tonight

Matteo Berrettini beat Ugo Humbert 7-6(3), 7-5 in one hour and 46 minutes. He now leads the head-to-head 4-2. Mattia Bellucci, on the other hand, is out, beaten 6-4, 6-1 by Arthur Rinderknech.

Tonight Carlos Alcaraz awaits him, after beating Alex Michelsen 7-6(4), 6-3. The head-to-head is 3-1 to the Spaniard.

🇦🇺 Hijikata knocks out Djokovic, Buse takes out Medvedev

Rinky Hijikata, world No. 83 and a qualifier, beat Novak Djokovic 2-6, 6-3, 6-3. He had lost both of their previous meetings. From the second set he took control with his forehand, and at 3-5 in the third Djokovic served two double faults in the game that ended the match. For Djokovic, 39, the race to Turin ends here.

After the medical time-out for his shoulder against Vacherot some doubts were fair, and the first set, won 6-2, seemed to have swept them away. "I should have won this match", he said afterwards. On the same day Ignacio Buse beat Daniil Medvedev, the No. 4 seed, 6-4, 6-4.

🇫🇷 Fils qualifies for Turin, Halys knocks out Tiafoe

Arthur Fils beat Tomas Machac 6-3, 7-6(4) and has qualified for the ATP Finals, the first Frenchman since Gaël Monfils in 2016. Quentin Halys knocked out Frances Tiafoe 6-3, 1-6, 7-6(9), saving four match points. Tomas Martin Etcheverry beat Alex de Minaur 7-6(2), 6-3, his first career win over a top-10 player.

With Zverev, Alcaraz, Shelton, Medvedev, Cobolli and Fils already in, and Sinner qualified but sidelined with a knee injury, Jodar, Tiafoe, Fritz and Paul are still in the running for the last spots. Jodar and Tiafoe are out of the tournament and can only wait, while Fritz and Paul need to go deep in Paris.

WHAT'S HAPPENING TODAY:

• Paul vs Halys (Central Court, 11:00) - Paul is playing for Turin, Halys comes off the biggest win of his career.
• Shelton vs Rinderknech (Central Court, second match) - Shelton, already qualified for Turin, against the Frenchman who knocked out Bellucci yesterday.
• Musetti vs Van Assche (Central Court, third match) - The day after Zverev, against the Frenchman who beat Learner Tien.
• Hijikata vs Etcheverry (Court 1, not before 14:00) - The two players who beat Djokovic and de Minaur yesterday play for a place in the quarterfinals.
• Berrettini vs Alcaraz (Central Court, not before 19:00) - Berrettini against the No. 2 seed for a place in the quarterfinals.
• Fils vs Fritz (Central Court, not before 20:30) - Fils plays with nothing to lose, Fritz has to win to stay in the race for Turin. On Court 1, Borges-Buse and Struff-Ruud complete the schedule.

Read More

• ATP Paris: Musetti cuts Zverev down, world No. 1 beaten!
• ATP Paris 2026, Musetti into the last 16: Zverev beaten in straight sets
• ATP Paris 2026, Musetti masterpiece. Berrettini to face Alcaraz, Djokovic says goodbye to the Finals
• Shock Wednesday in Paris: Hijikata stuns Djokovic as Zverev, Medvedev, de Minaur and Tiafoe also fall
• Rinky Hijikata defeats Novak Djokovic at Paris Masters, Alex de Minaur loses to end ATP Finals hopes
• ATP Paris, Thursday November 5 schedule: Musetti takes on Van Assche, Berrettini-Alcaraz at 19:00

Enjoy your breakfast and have a great day.

See you tomorrow at 08:30 with TIE-Breakfast.