Frances Tiafoe upset by home favourite Quentin Halys in three-set Paris Masters thriller
Home favourite Quentin Halys produced one of the biggest upsets of the Rolex Paris Masters on Wednesday, beating seventh seed Frances Tiafoe 6-3, 1-6, 7-6 in a dramatic three-set battle at La Défense Arena. The world No. 46 Frenchman saved four match points in the deciding tiebreak to reach the third round of the ATP Masters 1000 tournament.
How the thriller unfolded
Quentin Halys seized early control, taking the first set 6-3 behind a strong serve and home-crowd energy. Frances Tiafoe, seeded No. 8, responded forcefully in the second set and raced through it 6-1 to level the contest. The third set stayed tight on the fast indoor hard courts. In the tiebreak, the American held multiple chances to close out the match, but Halys refused to fold. He erased four match points and edged the breaker to complete a memorable comeback win in front of the Paris crowd.
The victory marked Halys’ second consecutive win at the event after he beat Arthur Fery 7-6(6), 7-5 in the first round, his first-ever main-draw success in Paris. Tiafoe, a US Open semifinalist earlier in 2026, arrived with a first-round bye but recent form that included a first-round loss to Lorenzo Musetti in Vienna.
