Dimitrov beats Bublik to cruise into Paris Masters quarters

PARIS: Grigor Dimitrov eased into the quarterfinals of the Paris Masters on Thursday with a straightforward 6-2, 6-2 defeat of Alexander Bublik of Kazakhstan.

Dimitrov, the World No. 17, showed little sign of the effects of his three-hour win against third seed Daniil Medvedev on Wednesday as he dispatched Bublik in just over an hour. The 32-year-old Bulgarian also reached the quarter-finals of the Masters 1000 event in Shanghai in October before going on to lose in the semifinals.

He will face 11th seed Hubert Hurkacz who beat Argentinian Francisco Cerundolo 6-4, 6-3.

Italian Jannik Sinner has withdrawn from the Paris Masters after his second round match finished in the early hours of Thursday morning, with the fourth seed saying he had to make the right decision for health reasons as his next match loomed.

Sinner’s clash with Mackenzie McDonald did not start until after midnight and his 6-7(6) 7-5 6-1 win ended at 2:37 a.m., with his third round tie against Alex de Minaur scheduled for Thursday afternoon, drawing criticism for the organizers.

“I am sorry to announce that I am withdrawing from today’s match in Bercy,” Sinner said on social media platform X.

“I finished the match when it was almost three in the morning and didn’t go to bed until a few hours later. I had less than 12 hours rest to prepare for the next game.”

In other Round of 16 matches today, 7th seed Stefanos Tsitsipas defeated 10th seed Alexander Zverev 7-6 (2), 6-4, 5th seed Andrey Rublev beat Boticvande Zandschulp 6-3, 6-3, 16th seed Karen Khachanov beat Roman Safiullin 4-6, 6-4, 6-2 to reach the last 8 stage. Agencies

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