Federer and Cilic met for the first time since the one-sided Wimbledon final encounter, earlier this year, in which the Swiss player secured his 19th Grand Slam title. Federer failed to convert one of three break points in the opening game of the match which led the opening set to be decided via a tie breaker. It was Cilic who took the initiative as he got the early mini-break but with Federer levelling things up at 4-4 it took a beautiful backhand volley at 5-5 for the fifth seed edge ahead again in a set he would eventually win 7-5 in the tie breaker.

Sock admitted that he did not believe that he would be able to clinch his place in the final four when he began his run in the Paris Masters. The American successfully drew errors from his opponent and his tactical game plan of slicing his backhand gave him the edge in the first set. In the second set, the 20-year-old Zverev got an early grip, by wrong-footing his opponent with a forehand and took a 2-0 lead. Sock’s challenge faded inexplicably over the next five games and eventually ended up winning handing the initiative to the German. The youngster looked set to take his expected place in the semis when he fought back from 4-1 down to level in the decider, but the American clinched the last two games to continue his surprise journey.