Fils edges Michelsen as Vacherot dents Jódar's Turin bid in Basel

Thursday's first two matches at the Swiss Indoors were both decided by final-set tie-breaks, and both affected the race to Turin. Valentin Vacherot beat third seed Rafael Jódar 7-6(4), 2-6, 7-6(5), a costly defeat for the Spaniard. Then second seed Arthur Fils came from a set down to beat Alex Michelsen 4-6, 6-3, 7-6(5) and reach the Basel quarter-finals.

Jódar lets his chances slip

The match lasted 2 hours, 30 minutes and turned on the two tie-breaks, which Vacherot won 7-4 and 7-5. According to Spanish outlet TodoAlicante, Jódar was the better player for much of the contest. But he could not convert three break points in the opening-set tie-break, and he let match point chances go in the decider while leading 5-4.

The defeat could cost the Madrid native a place at the ATP Finals. He came to Basel ninth in the Race to Turin on 3,184 points and beat Alejandro Tabilo 6-4, 6-2 in the first round. The same report puts him nearly 200 points behind Frances Tiafoe. Alex de Minaur, Novak Djokovic, Taylor Fritz and Tommy Paul are all still playing this week and could overtake him. That makes the Rolex Paris Masters next week his last chance to qualify for the season finale, which runs from 15 to 22 November.

There is a small consolation for the Spaniard. According to the same report, he is still likely to finish the week inside the world's top 10 for the first time, though that depends on other results.

Fils survives the Brussels rematch

Fils and Michelsen had played only days earlier in the Brussels quarter-finals, where the Frenchman won 6-4, 7-6(12). The rematch in the St. Jakobshalle was even closer. Michelsen took the first set and Fils levelled. The match went to a third-set tie-break, which Fils won 7-5 after 2 hours, 19 minutes.

It was another hard-earned win for Fils, who opened the week by beating his friend Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard 7-6(5), 7-5 in 1 hour, 45 minutes. In that match he converted only one of 13 break points. Every match matters for him right now. He reached the Brussels semi-finals last week before losing to Jan-Lennard Struff, and he is trying to hold on to a qualifying place for Turin ahead of Paris.

ATPMunar withdraws, sending Fils through as Bergs wins on Belgian Day

Fils plays the winner of Thursday's later match between Taylor Fritz and Denis Shapovalov. If Fritz wins, that quarter-final would also matter for the Race.

Vacherot sets up Rune clash

Vacherot keeps doing well at big indoor events. He opened his week by beating Mariano Navone 6-3, 7-6(4). A year ago he arrived at the St. Jakobshalle as the surprise Shanghai champion on a wild card and lost a tight first-round match to Fritz. This time he is through to the last eight.

In the quarter-finals he plays Holger Rune. The Dane saved a match point on Wednesday to beat Hubert Hurkacz 3-6, 6-3, 7-6(7). Nuno Borges, who came back from a 6-1 first set to beat Casper Ruud, plays the winner of Thursday evening's match between Novak Djokovic and Jan-Lennard Struff. Top seed Ben Shelton also plays Jérôme Kym later on Thursday.