Jordan Thompson once again found the answers against world No.7 Casper Ruud as the Aussie claimed a 7-6(3) 3-6 6-4 upset victory at the Paris Masters round of 32.
The 30-year-old Sydneysider has taken down the three-time Grand Slam runner-up twice in 2024 before Paris, claiming wins at the Los Cabos final in February and Tokyo last month.
"Thankfully I’m playing him on hard court and not clay because that was one-way traffic last time," Thompson told TennisTV after securing his seventh career top-10 win. "The last couple of times it’s been on hard court and managed to get the better of him, but it’s definitely my better surface."
"I think my ball is a little bit flatter. It doesn’t give him enough time to wind up on both groundstrokes, but he’s playing good on hard court too and I’ve managed to get the better of him a couple of times."
The result ensures Thompson a career-high ranking of No.27 as he sets his sights on a seeding berth at the 2025 Australian Open.
He awaits the winner of Adrian Mannarino and Zizou Bergs for a spot in the quarter-finals.
Ninth seed Alex de Minaur picked up his first win of the tournament against Argentina's Mariano Navone 7-5 6-1.
Given Andrey Rublev bowed out earlier in the day, de Minaur will overtake the Russian in the race to Turin's ATP Finals next month if he defeats Miomir Kecmanović and then the winner of either Taylor Fritz or Jack Draper.
Alexei Popyrin rounded out a sensational day for the Australians in Paris, getting the better of former Wimbledon finalist Matteo Berrettini in straight sets.
On the women's tour, Kimberly Birrell has moved up to world No.109 in the live WTA rankings after holding her nerve to beat Ana Bogdan 6-3 6-4 in Hong Kong.
The 26-year-old faces Leylah Fernandez in the round of 16, but she is joined by another Aussie in Priscilla Hon who aims to make her first WTA 250 quarter-final in five years.
Australia's highest-ranked female, Ajla Tomljanović (No.82), toppled Elizabeth Mandlik 7-6(9) 6-1, but has withdrawn from her next round to hand Switzerland's Jil Teichmann a walkover win.
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