Tommy Paul Beats Holger Rune in Straight Sets at the Paris Masters

Tommy Paul beat Holger Rune 7–5, 6–4 in the first round of the Paris Masters on Tuesday, advancing to a meeting with Spain’s Daniel Merida.

The 12th-seeded American kept his ATP Finals pursuit alive with the straight-sets win. He began the day 13th in the race to Turin and still needs a deep run in Paris to contend for a place.

Merida reached the second round by beating lucky loser Sebastian Baez 6–4, 6–2 on Monday in his Paris main-draw debut, according to Tennis Majors’ match report.

Rune, the 2022 Paris champion, entered this year’s tournament using a protected ranking. Tuesday’s result ended his singles campaign in the French capital.

Paul’s section of the draw also contains seventh seed Frances Tiafoe, who faces Quentin Halys in the second round. Paul and Tiafoe could meet in the last 16 if both win their next matches.

The official ATP results confirm Paul’s victory. It does not, by itself, qualify him for the season-ending Finals.