PARIS: Argentinian Diego Schwartzman moved within one win of reaching the ATP Tour Finals for the first time thanks to a third-round thrashing of Alejandro Davidovich Fokina at the Paris Masters on Thursday.
The sixth seed raced to a 6-1, 6-1 victory in only an hour and will face either third seed Daniil Medvedev or Australia's Alex de Minaur in the quarterfinals on Friday.
Schwartzman will qualify for the Tour Finals if he wins that match or if Pablo Carreno Busta does not win the title.
"Tomorrow (Friday) is going to be a different match and it will be tough because I want to be in London," said Schwartzman. "I need to do everything in my hands."
The season-ending event, being played in London for the last time before moving to Turin, gets underway on Nov 15.
Davidovich Fokina beat former Bercy champion Karen Khachanov in the first round, but was no match for Schwartzman.
The 28-year-old broke five times and saved the four break points he faced, which all came in the opening game of the match. – AFP
