French quartet move into last-16 at Paris Masters

France's top two players Ugo Humbert and Arthur Fils were among four local heros who advanced to the last-16 at the Paris Masters on Wednesday.

Humbert, seeded 15th, enjoyed a straight sets win over the 31-year-old American Marcos Giron.

Fils also progressed in straight sets. He saw off the experienced German Jan-Lennard Struff 6-3, 6-4 to reach the last-16 for the first time at the Paris Masters.

Arthur Rinderknech, who came through the qualifying rounds and Adrian Mannarino, who was given an invitation by the tournament organisers into the main draw, also advanced with wins over Alex Michelsen and Zizou Bergs respectively.

Bergs, who emerged from the qualifying round, claimed the first set 6-3. But Mannarino swept through the second 6-2. And he edged the decider 6-4 to set up a clash with Jordan Thompson from Australia.

"I think Arthur and Hugo have been playing at a really high level for a few months now," said Mannarino.

"It's almost logical that they're at this stage. For lower-ranked players like me and Rinderknech, it's a pleasant surprise to find ourselves at this stage."

There was disappointment though for the partisans at the Accor Arena in Bercy.

Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard - who claimed the most prestigious title of his career last weekend at the ATP500 event in Basel - lost in three sets to the Russian Karen Khachanov.

The 2018 champion secured his berth in the third round 6-7, 6-1, 6-4.

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