Halys and Rinderknech advance in Paris, Tiafoe awaits Halys

Halys stays composed against Fery

Two home players made it through to the second round at the Rolex Paris Masters on Tuesday. Quentin Halys beat Britain's Arthur Fery 7-6(6), 7-5 on Court 1 at the Plénitude Arena in Nanterre. Arthur Rinderknech went through when 16th seed Francisco Cerúndolo retired early in the third set.

Halys took a tight opening set 8-6 in the tie-break and then broke late in the second to close it out 7-5. French outlet Équipe-France described it as his first main-draw win in Paris. The win came at a useful moment: a week earlier he had lost his opening match in Basel to Holger Rune, after reaching the third round in Shanghai in October.

Rinderknech ends losing run

Rinderknech's match was much messier. The Frenchman dropped the first set 3-6 and trailed by a set and a break, and according to Équipe-France, Cerúndolo served at 5-4 in the second set. Rinderknech still forced a tie-break, won it 7-2 and was 2-0 up in the decider when the Argentine stopped with an injury. No details of the problem were given.

French media reported that the win ended a run of four straight defeats for Rinderknech. On Wednesday he faces Italian qualifier Mattia Bellucci, who beat Lorenzo Sonego 6-4, 6-3 in the first round.

Tiafoe up next with Turin on the line

Halys now faces seventh seed Frances Tiafoe, who has plenty riding on the week. The American is eighth in the Race to Turin on 3,390 points, according to the ATP, and is sure of a Nitto ATP Finals place if he reaches the semi-finals in Paris. With Jannik Sinner out for the rest of the season, ninth place in the Race is also enough this year. A home upset would put Tiafoe's ticket at risk.

Djokovic fights back to beat Basel champion Vacherot in Paris return

The other French players had a harder Tuesday. Qualifier Benjamin Bonzi won the first set against Taylor Fritz but lost 6-3, 3-6, 4-6. Wildcard Arthur Géa went down 7-6(3), 6-3 to Jan-Lennard Struff. Moïse Kouamé, another wildcard, who recently won the Brest Challenger, was playing his first Masters 1000 main draw. He lost 6-3, 6-1 to lucky loser Nuno Borges.

Fils headlines French Wednesday

There are still five Frenchmen in the second round. Arthur Fils faces qualifier Tomáš Macháč. Fils is seventh in the Race on 3,535 points and will secure his Turin debut if he reaches the quarter-finals. Ugo Humbert, who came through a late-night three-setter against Botic van de Zandschulp on Monday, meets Matteo Berrettini. Luca Van Assche takes on 15th seed Learner Tien.

Rinderknech plays Bellucci on Wednesday. Halys's match with Tiafoe could shape the Turin race: an American win moves Tiafoe closer to the semi-final he needs, while a Halys win would leave his qualification depending on other results.