Aussie tennis star Alex de Minaur has been the unwitting beneficiary of a scheduling row at the Paris Masters which forced his weary last-16 opponent Jannik Sinner to pull out just 90 minutes before they were due to clash.
Organisers of one of the sport’s biggest Masters 1000 events have been under fire for a schedule which meant Italian Sinner was due to play de Minaur at 5pm on Thursday, having only won his previous match in the early hours of that morning at 2.37am, giving him no time to rest and prepare properly.
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Sinner’s Australian coach Darren Cahill led the protests, leaving his thoughts after the three-set win over Mackenzie McDonald in a match which had only begun after midnight.
“2:45 a.m. Happy for the Jannik win, but zero care for the players’ welfare with the Paris schedule,” he wrote.
Other players slammed the ATP, with Norway’s Casper Ruud writing: “Bravo @atptour way to help one of the best players in the world recover and be as ready as possible when he finished his previous match at 2:37 am this morning 14,5 hours to recover.. what a joke.”
De Minaur is the beneficiary of Sinner’s withdrawal, earning a walkover into the quarter-finals.
“It’s crazy … tournament doesn’t care and ATP just follow what the tournament will want,” three-time grand slam winner Stan Wawrinka said.
The in-form Sinner, who’d won two of his last three tournaments including a triumph at the Vienna Open on Sunday, confirmed he was pulling out about an hour and a half beforehand the slated 5pm start.
“I am sorry to announce that I am withdrawing,” Sinner said.
“I finished the match when it was almost 3 in the morning and didn’t go to bed until a few hours later. I had less than 12 hours to rest and prepare for the next game.
“I have to make the right decision for my health and my body. The weeks ahead with the ATP Finals at home and the Davis Cup will be very important, now I focus on preparing for these important events. See you in Turin! Forza!”
The walkover, though, was a surprise boost for 24-year-old de Minaur, who’s been given a passage through to a quarter-final meeting with fifth seed Andrey Rublev, who defeated Botic van de Zandschulp 6-3 6-3.
Not only was de Minaur spared having to play Sinner, who’s beaten him in their five previous encounters, but he’s also had a welcome rest day after gruelling contests against Andy Murray and Dusan Lajovic.
It also heightens the Sydneysider’s slim hopes of reaching the end-of-season ATP Finals as one of the top eight men’s players in 2023.
Stefanos Tsitsipas was the sixth man to book his Turin place by beating Alexander Zverev 7-6 (7-2) 6-4 and he’ll join the already-qualified Novak Djokovic, Carlos Alcaraz, Daniil Medvedev, Sinner and Rublev.
Zverev could still make it into the final eight, with both de Minaur and Hubert Hurkacz also in the hunt for the last two places.
Poland’s 11th seed Hurkacz beat Francisco Cerundolo 6-4 6-3, and will face Grigor Dimitrov, who cruised past Alexander Bublik 6-2 6-2, in the quarters.
Karen Khachanov, Paris winner in 2018, rallied to beat qualifier Roman Safiullin 4-6 6-4 6-2 to set up a quarter-final with Tsitsipas.
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