Arthur Rinderknech never faced a break point as he beat Italian qualifier Mattia Bellucci 6-4, 6-1 in 1 hour 6 minutes in the second round of the Paris Masters 1000 on Wednesday. The Frenchman, ranked No. 68, will face third seed Ben Shelton, who beat Cameron Norrie 6-3, 6-4 on Tuesday, in the last 16.

It is the fifth time Rinderknech has reached the last 16 of a Masters 1000 event, after Montreal and Paris in 2024, Shanghai in 2025 and Montreal this year. The win is his 20th at tour level this season, making him the fifth Frenchman to reach that mark in 2026.

A day earlier, he had been one game from defeat in the first round. Francisco Cerundolo, the 16th seed, broke at 4-4 in the second set to serve for the match, before the Frenchman broke back and won the tie-break. The Argentine retired with a back problem early in the third set, at 3-6, 7-6 (2), 2-0.

How Rinderknech beat Bellucci without facing a break point

The opening set went with serve until Bellucci served at 4-5. Rinderknech broke on his first opportunity, which was also his first set point, to take it in 37 minutes.

The Frenchman broke in the second and fourth games of the second set to lead 4-0, then held to love for 5-0. After Bellucci held, Rinderknech served out the match to love, on his first match point.

He held all nine of his service games and converted all three of his break points. He landed 88 percent of his first serves and won 81 percent of those points (34 of 42), with six aces and 18 winners to 12 unforced errors.

Rinderknech now leads Bellucci 2-0 in their head-to-head, after beating him 7-6 (5), 3-6, 6-1 in the quarter-finals in Atlanta in 2024.

Bellucci came through qualifying with wins over Pablo Carreno Busta 6-1, 7-6 (3) and Thiago Agustin Tirante 6-4, 6-4. He then beat compatriot Lorenzo Sonego 6-4, 6-3 for his first main-draw win in Paris. The Italian had won 16 of his 19 matches at all levels since September 28, a run that included the Challenger title in Jinan.

Rolex Paris Masters 2026 second-round results

Alexander Zverev (1) vs Lorenzo Musetti
Luca Van Assche vs Learner Tien (15)
Novak Djokovic (10) vs Rinky Hijikata (Q)
Tomas Martin Etcheverry vs Alex de Minaur (8)
Ben Shelton (3) d. Cameron Norrie 6-3, 6-4
Arthur Rinderknech d. Mattia Bellucci (Q) 6-4, 6-1
Tommy Paul (12) vs Daniel Merida
Quentin Halys vs Frances Tiafoe (7)
Thiago Agustin Tirante (LL) vs Jan-Lennard Struff (SE)
Casper Ruud d. Rafael Jodar (9) 6-3, 6-4
Nuno Borges (LL) vs Karen Khachanov
Ignacio Buse vs Daniil Medvedev (4)
Arthur Fils (6) vs Tomas Machac (Q)
Alex Molcan (Q) vs Taylor Fritz (11)
Matteo Berrettini vs Ugo Humbert
Alex Michelsen vs Carlos Alcaraz (2)