Alex de Minaur, for so long a 'nearly-man' of world tennis, has earned a major career breakthrough by defeating former world No.1 Daniil Medvedev in an epic affair at the Paris Masters.

The Sydneysider, who's built an excellent career while always seemingly coming up just short against the true elite, earned his first-ever victory over a top-five ranked player at the 19th attempt with his thrilling 6-4 2-6 7-5 victory over the Russian.

De Minaur had lost all his previous four encounters with the world No.3 including two matches in which he'd won the first set - and it looked as if history would repeat itself on Wednesday.

But the 23-year-old Australian, ever the battler, regrouped, went on the offensive after what had been a remarkable cat-and-mouse affair and won an absorbing contest in two hours and 46 minutes.

The Russian ended up smashing his racquet into the court amid a chorus of jeers from his Parisian audience who'd already enjoyed baiting him during the contest - but he was quick to congratulate his never-say-die conqueror at the net.

The world No.25 de Minaur will take back his Australia No.1 spot from Nick Kyrgios if he wins his next match, a last-16 contest on Thursday against American Frances Tiafoe, the world No.21 who defeated rising Briton Jack Draper 6-3 7-5.

"I just wanted to wait for the 19th game - why do it in the first 18, eh?" de Minaur smiled in a post-match interview with Tennis Channel as he pondered his long quest to beat a top-five player.

"I knew it was going to be a tough battle. He's an incredibly tough opponent. I knew what to expect and I'm glad I played a very tactical match out there.

"When you're playing Daniil you've got to find a very fine balance between being solid and being aggressive.

"Obviously, we all know what he can do with his passing shots and with his movement around the court. I just tried to wait for the right ball and just back myself and back my volleys."

In the first match of the night session, American Tommy Paul stunned new dad and second seed Rafael Nadal 6-3 6-7 (4-7) 6-1.

Nadal, the 22-time grand slam singles champion who has never won the Paris Masters, was playing for the first time in two months and succumbed in two hours and 33 minutes.

Paul will next face another Spaniard in Pablo Carreno Busta after his 7-6 (7-2) 2-6 6-4 victory over Canadian Denis Shapovalov.

Current world No.1 Carlos Alcaraz, also from Spain, sailed into the third round with a 6-4 6-4 win over Yoshihito Nishioka, while Felix Auger-Aliassime, a 6-7 (6-8) 6-4 7-6 (8-6) winner over Swede Mikael Ymer, and Greek Stefanos Tsitsipas, who beat Dan Evans 6-3 6-4, also progressed.

"I'm happy with the level of tennis I brought when I had to," Tsitsipas said.

"I was moving well, I was dictating well ... I was very calm in important moments, and it paid off."

The ninth and 10th seeds were not as fortunate with American Taylor Fritz beaten 7-5 5-7 6-4 by French veteran Gilles Simon and Poland's Hubert Hurkacz defeated by Holger Rune of Denmark 7-5 6-1.

© AAP 2022

Hundreds of residents across inland NSW are under evacuation orders as swollen rivers and catchments inundate towns in southern and central western NSW.

With 104 emergency warnings current across the state, authorities have told residents in parts of Forbes, Wagga Wagga and Gunnedah to evacuate from low-lying areas as major flooding is set to hit the Murrumbidgee, Namoi and Lachlan rivers.

Severe flooding is expected in the central western town of Forbes on Thursday and Friday as the community reels from an inundation weeks ago.

"It is a long list of rivers in flood in NSW with our greatest concern at the moment being for the Lachlan River at Forbes," Ashley Sullivan from the State Emergency Service told ABC TV on Thursday.

"We are expecting major flooding in the next couple of days, equivalent to probably the 1952 flooding in that area.

"Although we have seen flooding in Forbes in recent months, this flooding will be higher than what we have seen in any of those floods, so we are asking the community to pay particular attention to our current warnings," he said.

A number of other inland catchments are dealing with major flooding, including along the Namoi River in the agricultural town of Gunnedah.

The towns of Tumut, Gundagai, Wagga Wagga, Hay and Cootamundra are also inundated as the Murrumbidgee River rises to major flood levels.

Flooding of the Murrumbidgee is being exacerbated by spills from the Burrinjuck Dam combined with inflows from the Tumut River and other tributaries, pushing peaks above 1989 flood levels at Gundagai.

Communities in Lightning Ridge and Walgett have also been isolated by flooding of the Barwon and Darling river systems, with catchments likely to remain flooded for months.

Flooding is also a risk at Albury with the Murray River rising to moderate flood levels on Thursday as major flooding in the border towns of Echuca and Moama continues into next week.

The SES has issued several watch and act warnings for low-lying areas of the town and nearby Corowa.

The flooding comes after the Murray-Darling Basin Authority increased releases of water from Hume Dam in response to continued rain and the main road and only access into the area is closed.

Combined with inflows from the Kiewa River downstream of the dam, the Murray River is expected to approach or exceed the major flood level in the city - one of the state's largest regional centres.

The SES has received 431 calls for assistance and conducted 15 flood rescues in the past 24 hours.

© AAP 2022

Hundreds of residents across inland NSW are under evacuation orders as rolling peaks continue to hit swollen rivers, inundating towns across southern and central western NSW.

In the wheat belt town of Forbes in the state's central west, some 600 people have been told to evacuate their homes by 4pm Thursday as rising waters threaten to cut off homes and strand residents.

"I appreciate that communities right across the central and southern NSW are exhausted," Emergency Services Minister Steph Cooke told reporters on Thursday.

"Everyone is flood weary but we need to keep working through this. We need to keep working together.

"Whilst we are starting to see blue skies emerge ... the flooding risk is very, very high at the moment."

NSW SES Zone Commander Ben Pickup said record flooding was expected at Forbes on Friday night as the Lachlan River peaked at levels not seen since 1952.

He said peaks would continue through to Saturday morning.

"I really encourage the community of Forbes - please listen to the warning information," he said.

"Please, please follow that messaging."

Ms Cooke said significant flooding would continue across numerous inland catchments in the coming days.

"We are continuing to see peaks roll through the system even though there isn't water falling from the sky at the moment," she said.

Mr Pickup said significant flooding is impacting all major river systems across NSW.

Major flooding on the Lachlan River on Thursday is causing inundations in the town of Nanami.

Further downstream, major flooding is also occurring on the Lachlan River at Condobolin, with the river not expected to fall for weeks.

The Murrumbidgee River has also burst its banks, with major floods peaking at Gundagai on Wednesday night, and major peaks possible at Wagga Wagga on Thursday night.

Ms Cooke expressed her sympathies for the Gunnedah community, which has been hit by seven floods in recent weeks, and Wagga Wagga, which faces its fourth inundation since August.

Renewed, moderate flooding is also occurring at Albury and Corowa on the Murray River after widespread falls.

Ongoing significant flooding is continuing in the border town of Moama, where water levels are likely to remain high through to next week.

Clean-up efforts are continuing in the Riverina town of Cootamundra after thunderstorms and flash flooding on Monday.

Some 23 properties were destroyed and 37 damaged, rapid damage assessments by the SES and Fire and Rescue NSW found.

The SES has received 431 calls for assistance and conducted 15 flood rescues in the past 24 hours.

© AAP 2022

Farmers are facing "devastating" losses across central NSW as dangerous flooding continues to hit the state's agricultural region and some residents ignore evacuation orders.

In the wheat belt town of Forbes in the state's central west, some 600 people have been told to evacuate their homes by 4pm Thursday as rising waters threaten to cut off properties and strand residents.

Cattle farmer Charles Laverty was busy sandbagging his property on the outskirts of Forbes with about a third of his paddocks already underwater on Thursday.

Continued flooding has hit inland communities hard, as farmers struggle to recover from repeated bouts of destruction to crops and livestock.

"A lot of (my neighbours) have given up on harvesting those areas, which is very expensive," Mr Laverty told AAP.

"The losses are going to be devastating for them."

Despite warnings from authorities the Lachlan River would reach 1952 levels on Friday, locals remained unsure how the peaks would hit the landscape due to significant changes in infrastructure.

"No one really knows what's going to happen," Mr Laverty said.

Some residents in the evacuation zone in Forbes opted to stay in their homes despite urgent warnings from the NSW SES, telling residents in low-lying parts of Forbes to leave before nightfall.

Some locals made other preparations, including sourcing generators and bottled water in case they lost access to power and plumbing, Gavin Tom, vice-chairman of the Parkes-Forbes NSW Farmers Association told AAP.

"The problem isn't so much whether the house gets inundated - it's more if the services get affected by the floods," he said.

Record flooding is forecast in Forbes on Friday night when the Lachlan River is expected to peak, NSW SES Zone Commander Ben Pickup said.

He said peaks would continue through to Saturday morning.

"I really encourage the community of Forbes - please listen to the warning information," he said.

"Please, please follow that messaging."

Emergency Services Minister Steph Cooke said she understood the exhaustion felt by communities across central and southern NSW, but warned flooding would continue across inland catchments in coming days.

"Everyone is flood weary but we need to keep working through this. We need to keep working together," she told reporters on Thursday.

"Whilst we are starting to see blue skies emerge ... the flooding risk is very, very high at the moment.

"We are continuing to see peaks roll through the system even though there isn't water falling from the sky at the moment."

Major flooding on the Lachlan River on Thursday is causing inundations in the town of Nanami, and major flooding continues further downstream at Condobolin, with the river not expected to fall for weeks.

The Murrumbidgee River has also burst its banks, with major floods peaking at Gundagai on Wednesday night, and major peaks possible at Wagga Wagga on Thursday night.

Ms Cooke expressed her sympathies for the Gunnedah community, which has been hit by seven floods in recent weeks, and Wagga Wagga, which faces its fourth inundation since August.

Renewed, moderate flooding is also occurring at Albury and Corowa on the Murray River after widespread falls.

Ongoing significant flooding is continuing in the border town of Moama, where water levels are likely to remain high through to next week.

The SES has received 431 calls for assistance and conducted 15 flood rescues in the past 24 hours.

© AAP 2022