Alexander Bublik battles into first Masters semi-final after stunning de Minaur in Paris

In a pulsating contest inside the La Defense Arena, 13th seed Bublik battled back from a set down to stun sixth seed de Minaur 6-7(5), 6-4, 7-5 in the French capital.

It is the second straight top-10 win for the Kazakh, who defeated fourth seed Taylor Fritz in the third round on Thursday, and he has now reached his first Masters 1000 semi-final, continuing what has been a career-best year.

The 28-year-old reached his first Grand Slam quarter-final at the French Open back in June — also beating de Minaur during that run — and has won four ATP Tour titles in 2025, a total currently only bettered by Carlos Alcaraz this season.

Bublik had dropped outside of the top 80 of the ATP Rankings earlier this season, though has surged back up throughout the second half of the year, and was sitting at a career-high of world No 16 heading into Paris.

Victory over Fritz on Thursday placed Bublik up three places to a new high of world No 13 on the ATP Live Rankings, and his win over de Minaur on Friday has now cemented that spot — with a chance to rise even further with a deeper run.

"It's definitely a big win - it's also a milestone win," said Bublik, speaking to Tennis TV post-match.

"I'm definitely hitting my new career high. I hit it yesterday, I'm going to hit it today regardless of the outcome of Sacha's [Zverev] match.

"Making my first semi-final of Masters, actually at my favourite event, my favourite Masters alongside Monaco. That feels great.

"I'm in good shape, I feel great, I feel the crowd here, so I really like being in Paris. For me, it's about keeping the momentum going, try to hit the shots, and just hope for the best."

Up next for Bublik in the semi-final is ninth seed Felix Auger-Aliassime, who was dominant in a 6-2, 6-2 quarter-final victory versus Valentin Vacherot.

The semi-final holds huge importance in the race to the ATP Finals in Turin, with both Bublik and Auger-Aliassime in contention.

The Kazakh could seal a place as an alternate with a run to the title, while Auger-Aliassime will move inside the top eight of the race if he defeats Bublik on Saturday afternoon to reach the final.

Bublik added: "I can't make it directly to Turin, but I can make it as an alternate, and he can make it directly if he wins it.

"So it's going to be a big match. He's fighting for his spot, I'm fighting to be alternate, so I hope it's going to be a good battle, I hope it's going to be a fair battle, and we're going to show some good tennis."