Lammons/Withrow Reach Paris QFs, Keep Turin Hopes Alive

Can Nathaniel Lammons and Jackson Withrow ride their red-hot late-season form all the way to the Nitto ATP Finals?

The American pair maintained its push for a debut at the prestigious season finale Thursday at the Rolex Paris Masters, where it overcame rivals Maximo Gonzalez and Andres Molteni 7-5, 7-6(5) to reach the quarter-finals. Lammons and Withrow converted two of the seven break points they earned to clinch their 94-minute triumph and set a last-eight clash with Rajeev Ram and Joe Salisbury.

Lammons and Withrow have lifted four tour-level titles since July (Newport, Atlanta, Winston-Salem, Astana) and their run so far on debut at the ATP Masters 1000 in Paris-Bercy has consolidated them in eighth in the Pepperstone ATP Live Doubles Teams Rankings.

An eighth-place finish won’t be enough for Lammons and Withrow to book a spot at the prestigious season finale this year, however, after Australian Open winners Rinky Hijikata and Jason Kubler’s qualification as the only Grand Slam champions to finish the regular season between eighth and 20th was confirmed earlier on Thursday. Lammons and Withrow therefore need to overhaul Gonzalez and Molteni in seventh to reach Turin — the Argentines are currently 355 points ahead of the Americans.

Wesley Koolhof and Neal Skupski extended their winning streak in Paris-Bercy to five matches by defeating Karen Khachanov and Andrey Rublev 6-4, 7-6(5). The 2022 champions began their title defence by wrapping a 93-minute win to set a quarter-final with Santiago Gonzalez and Edouard Roger-Vasselin, whose Nitto ATP Finals qualification was also confirmed on Thursday.

Harri Heliovaara and Mate Pavic ended Marcelo Arevalo and Jean-Julien Rojer’s chances of reaching Turin for the second straight year. The Finnish-Croatian duo notched a 6-4, 6-4 win against the eighth seeds in Paris, where they will next take on top seeds Ivan Dodig and Austin Krajicek.

[SWEEPSTAKES]