“Honestly, I don’t pay much attention to ratings. I didn’t think he was top 10 until Marc Morey made his introduction,” Halis said in French at his press conference, referring to the tournament host. “It’s a great win, it’s great. The emotions I felt today are the highest.”
His victory also clinched a place in Turin. Fils qualified for the Nitto ATP Finals with Hallis’ win, according to ATP Day’s Scenarios, and became the first Frenchman to qualify since Gael Monfils in 2016. Tiafoe, eighth in the Turin race with 3,390 points, was chasing his first appearance at the event. In August, he lost the final in Cincinnati to the Phils 6-3, 1-6, 6-0.
How Halis saved four points against Tiafoe
Halis broke twice to take a 4-0 lead in the opening set. Tiafoe was 4-1 down on his fifth break point of the match, but the Frenchman closed out the set at love for 6-3.
In the second set, the American broke 1-2 and 1-4, leveling the match. He broke again in the opening game of the decider to lead 3-1 and 4-2 before serving for 5-4. Hallis broke her on her first break point.
In the tiebreak, Hallis saved four match points and won it 11-9 on her first match point.
“It’s a little bit 50-50, he misses a forehand that wasn’t too hard for him,” Hallis said. “At the end of the day, it’s just about trying to get the ball in the field one more time.”
The third set alone lasted 63 minutes. Halis hit 17 aces to Tiafoe’s seven and saved six of the 10 break points she faced, while Tiafoe saved none of her three. Halis scored 93 points and Tiafoe scored 85.
“There is no rational explanation. I think he deserved a little more for a set and a half,” admitted the Frenchman.
Halis, a tiebreaker, will next face Paul in Paris
Hallis has won both of his matches this week in tiebreaks after defeating Britain’s Arthur Ferry 7-6 (6), 7-5 on Tuesday.
“Because of my style of play, I regularly end up in a tie-break match. I’m pretty good at it because I usually put a lot of pressure on my serve,” he explained. “Especially indoors, it all comes down to very little.”
Tiafoe, who won the Halle title this year, went 19-2 in his opening matches of the season. He has not won a match in Paris since reaching the quarter-finals in 2022.
“It will be such a style of play. an American who serves very well, who also moves very well,” Hallis said of Paul. “It’s maybe not the surface they’re best at, it’s maybe a little fast for them.”
Rolex Paris Masters 2026 second round results
Lorenzo Musetti d. Alexander Zverev (1) 7-6 (5), 6-2
Luca Van Aschen d. Student Ten (15) 7-6 (4), 6-4
Rinki Hijikata (Q) d. Novak Djokovic (10) 2-6, 6-3, 6-3
Thomas Martin Etchver d. Alex de Minaur (8) 7-6 (2), 6-3
Ben Shelton (3) d. Cameron Norrie 6-3, 6-4
Arthur Rinderknech d. Mattia Bellucci (Q) 6-4, 6-1
Tommy Paul (12) d. Daniel Merida 6-1, 6-1
Quentin Hallis d. Francis Tiafoe (7) 6-3, 1-6, 7-6 (9)
Thiago Agustin Tirante (LL) vs Jan-Lennard Struff (SE) (Wednesday)
Casper Rood d. Rafael Jodar (9) 6-3, 6-4
Nuno Borges (LL) d. Karen Khachanov 6-3, 6-4
Ignacio bus d. Daniil Medvedev (4) 6-4, 6-4
Arthur Fils (6) vs Tomas Machak (Q) (Wednesday)
Taylor Fritz (11) d. Alex Molkan (Q) 6-7 (6), 7-5, 7-6 (5)
Matteo Berettini d. Hugo Humbert 7-6 (3), 7-5
Carlos Alcaraz (2) d. Alex Michelsen 7-6 (4), 6-3
In bold. today’s results.
