Arthur Rinderknech beat 16th seed Francisco Cerúndolo when the Argentine retired in the third set, Nuno Borges ended 17-year-old wildcard Moïse Kouamé’s Paris debut, and Learner Tien and Jan-Lennard Struff also advanced on the Tuesday first-round card of the Paris Masters.
Paris, France: The first round of the Paris Masters produced a seeded retirement, a teenage near-miss and two more wins on a crowded Tuesday card. These are the matches that were not covered in our earlier round-up.
Rinderknech profits as Cerúndolo retires
Rinderknech beat the 16th seed 3-6, 7-6(2), 2-0 retired in 1 hour 42 minutes. Cerúndolo won the first set 6-3 in 32 minutes and broke at 4-4 in the second to serve for the match, but Rinderknech broke straight back and won the tie-break 7-2. Cerúndolo, apparently troubled by his back, took a medical time-out after the second set, lost eight straight points and retired down 0-2 in the decider.
Rinderknech, ranked 68th, hit seven aces and won 39 of 50 first-serve points. It was his first win since the third round of the US Open, ending a four-match losing streak. He plays qualifier Mattia Bellucci next.
Borges ends Kouamé’s record bid
Borges, a lucky loser, beat French wildcard Kouamé 6-3, 6-1 in 1 hour 4 minutes. At 17 years and 7 months, Kouamé was chasing Michael Chang’s record as the youngest match winner in Paris, set in 1989 at 17 years and 8 months. Borges broke for 3-2 in the first set, then broke twice more in the second to lead 4-0. He held all eight service games and converted four of nine break points.
Kouamé had won his first Challenger title in Brest two days earlier and risen to a career-high 132nd. His draw changed when Alejandro Davidovich Fokina withdrew with a back problem, and Borges took the vacated spot after losing in the last round of qualifying. Borges meets Karen Khachanov next.
Tien and Struff stay alive
Tien, the 15th seed, beat lucky loser Adolfo Daniel Vallejo 6-3, 5-7, 7-5 in 2 hours 22 minutes. Vallejo entered after Stefanos Tsitsipas withdrew with a right shoulder injury, and he had beaten Tien in Madrid in April. Tien, 20, plays France’s Luca Van Assche next.
The last match of the round saw Struff beat French wildcard Arthur Géa 7-6(3), 6-3 in 1 hour 17 minutes. Struff, who beat Novak Djokovic in Basel last week, entered as a special exempt and served 10 aces. He meets lucky loser Thiago Agustín Tirante, who replaced the withdrawn Flavio Cobolli, on Wednesday.
Paris Masters first-round results, Tuesday, November 3, 2026: Rinderknech d. Cerúndolo (16) 3-6, 7-6(2), 2-0 ret.; Borges (LL) d. Kouamé (WC) 6-3, 6-1; Tien (15) d. Vallejo (LL) 6-3, 5-7, 7-5; Struff (SE) d. Géa (WC) 7-6(3), 6-3.
