More than 20,000 fans packed the famous Plaza de Toros México bullring for the TennisFest GNP exhibition match.

But outside contenders Casper Ruud and Tommy Paul saw their ATP Finals hopes ended Wednesday.

The American eventually saved three match points to edge Frenchman Richard Gasquet, and overcome the home crowd, at the Paris Masters.

Fritz opted for treat over trick while Paul hopes to return the favor with a turn on the doubles court.

The Austrian became the third player to win from match point down on Court Central Monday.

Fritz surged through his Rolex Paris Masters opener after Frances Tiafoe, Ben Shelton, and Christopher Eubanks all exited on Monday.

The 26-year-old became the fifth player to qualify for Turin's prestigious event Thursday.

Also Wednesday: Shanghai champ Hubert Hurkacz fell to Zhang Zhizhen and Casper Ruud was ousted by Marcos Giron.

Fellow ATP Finals contenders Tsitsipas and Rune headline Antwerp and Stockholm; Fernandez looks to build on her Hong Kong triumph at Nanchang.

Rublev is coming off one of the best performances of his career, and he now faces Paul, who is just 2-5 in his last seven matches.