Ruud beats Jódar in Paris as Cobolli seals ATP Finals debut

Ruud turns the tables on Jódar

Casper Ruud took his revenge on Rafael Jódar on Tuesday night at the Rolex Paris Masters. The Norwegian beat the ninth-seeded Spaniard 6-3, 6-4 in less than 80 minutes, and the second-round result was felt well beyond Paris. It settled one more place at the Nitto ATP Finals and made the race for the last spot a lot more crowded.

Less than three weeks ago the same matchup went the other way. In the Shanghai quarter-finals Jódar came from a set down to win 4-6, 6-4, 6-3 and became the youngest semi-finalist in the tournament's history. Indoors in Nanterre, Ruud never let the 20-year-old settle. "On the indoor court you have to be as aggressive as possible. There will be some mistakes," Ruud said afterwards, according to the ATP.

Jódar was gracious in defeat. "He played better than me," he said, as quoted by Tennis Majors. "I tried to do everything I could, but today it wasn't to be."

Cobolli confirmed for Turin without hitting a ball

The biggest winner of the evening was not even in Paris. Flavio Cobolli pulled out of the tournament with a left leg injury and could only wait. Jódar was the last player who could still catch the Italian, and only by reaching at least the Paris final. That chance ended with Tuesday's defeat, so Cobolli is now mathematically certain of his first appearance at the season finale, which runs in Turin from 15 to 22 November.

Cobolli joins Alexander Zverev, Carlos Alcaraz, Ben Shelton and Daniil Medvedev in the field. Jannik Sinner is second in the Race but ended his season in October with a knee injury, so ninth place in the standings is enough for a ticket this year. That leaves three spots open.

Jódar's place now under threat

According to the ATP's Live Race, Jódar is ninth with 3,234 points. He holds a qualifying position for now but can no longer add to his total. Arthur Fils (3,535) is guaranteed a place if he reaches the quarter-finals in Paris. Frances Tiafoe (3,390) needs the semi-finals to be certain.

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The most immediate danger to Jódar comes from Alex de Minaur. The Australian is tenth on 3,170 points, and Tennis Majors and the ATP both report that he would move past the Spaniard by beating Tomás Martín Etcheverry in the second round on Wednesday. Further back, Novak Djokovic (2,940), Taylor Fritz (2,900) and Tommy Paul (2,775) are still mathematically alive. Each of them needs a deep run this week.

Jódar, who only broke into the top 10 this week, was asked about his chances of being in Turin. He answered carefully: "We will see who has qualified and who goes as alternates, and we will have to think about it."

Ruud is already into the third round. The result also means Jódar's Turin fate is out of his hands. If de Minaur beats Etcheverry on Wednesday, the Spaniard drops to tenth and out of the qualifying places, with Fils, Tiafoe and the rest of the chasing pack still in the draw.