Terence Atmane’s breakthrough, unexpected semifinal run at the Cincinnati Masters a couple of months ago, where he entered as a qualifier and defeated players like Taylor Fritz and Holger Rune, provided an excellent platform for him to build his main tour career without worrying about his ranking, firmly securing a spot inside the top 100. Unfortunately, he has not been able to fully capitalize on that hard-earned momentum, largely due to fitness setbacks.
The Frenchman withdrew from the US Open shortly after his Cincinnati run, and in the four tournaments he has entered since then, he has often appeared far from an optimal physical condition. He retired once at the Shanghai Masters and looked completely drained in Vienna last week, losing 3–6, 1–6 to Mackenzie McDonald in the first qualifying round.
Though most of the momentum from the Cincinnati Masters has faded without much impact, the benefits of that result remain, allowing him to compete regularly on the main tour, including at the Paris Masters this week, where he is making his main-draw debut. His only previous campaign here, in 2023, ended in the first qualifying round against Sebastian Ofner.
This has been a tough and challenging season for Aleksandar Vukic, but his fortunes have improved slightly in recent months, aided by some good luck. He reached the quarterfinals in Tokyo last month, marking his first main-tour quarterfinal of 2025, entered the Shanghai Masters main draw as a lucky loser with a first-round bye, and has now received a walkover from Reilly Opelka in the final qualifying round.
The Aussie enters his main-draw debut at the Paris Masters with a 2–5 record in first-round matches at Masters tournaments during the 2025 season, and his overall win-loss record this year stands at a disappointing 27–36. The lack of victories has made his season a struggle to remain inside the ATP top 100, a goal he is currently falling short of, sitting just outside the top 100 at present.
Head-to-head: Terence Atmane leads 1-0. While Aleksandar Vukic has had a poor season and has not been reliable for wins at this level, Atmane’s fitness in recent weeks has appeared shaky, raising concerns heading into this campaign. This makes it challenging to identify a clear favorite in this clash.
