Alexander Bublik ensured his slim hopes of reaching the ATP Finals are still alive with a stunning comeback win over Alex De Minaur in the Paris Masters quarter-finals.

Bublik put up a fight in the first set, then rallied after falling behind to clinch a 6-7 (5-7) 6-4 7-5 victory in just under two and a half hours on Friday.

There was little to split the pair in the first set, with both players having to hold off a break point each as they went to a tie-break.

Bublik initially stormed into a 5-3 lead, but he then failed to win another point as De Minaur reeled off four in a row to put one foot in the semi-final.

However, the Australian stumbled after that, losing his serve early in the second set before failing to convert a break point of his own as Bublik levelled the match.

They were evenly matched again in the decider, and though Bublik failed to take his first two break points, he took the next on a three-game winning streak to reach his first Masters 1000 semi-final.

The moment Bublik made it to his first ATP Masters 1000 semi-final @RolexPMasters | #RolexParisMasters pic.twitter.com/hA5UGNL7x0

— ATP Tour (@atptour) October 31, 2025

He will now face Felix Auger-Aliassime for a place in the final, with the Canadian also pushing for a spot at the year-end event in Turin.

Auger-Aliassime triumphed 6-2 6-2 over Valentin Vacherot, ending the Monagasque's 10-match winning streak at Masters 1000 events.

Since the event's switch to hard courts in 2007, Auger-Aliassime is just the fourth player from outside Europe to reach multiple semi-finals in Paris, after David Nalbandian, John Isner and Milos Raonic. 

Data Debrief: Breaking new ground

Since the format's introduction in 1990, Bublik is now the first player representing Kazakhstan to reach a semi-final at an ATP Masters 1000 event.

In fact, he is just the second player representing an Asian country to claim multiple ATP top-10 wins at both a grand slam and Masters 1000 event in a season, after Kei Nishikori (2014).

Bublik struck 44 winners and did not drop serve against De Minaur, but he knows he still has a task ahead of him to reach the ATP Finals, needing to lift this trophy in order to qualify.