The draw for the Rolex Masters at Bercy was made this Friday with the presence of Frenchman Arthur Fils, 38th player in the world, who entered the draw directly after the withdrawal of Canadian Denis Shapovalov.
Alcaraz-Djokovic, the meeting is still far away
The draw spared Novak Djokovic and Carlos Alcaraz, respectively numbers 1 and 2 in the world rankings, who will only be able to meet in the final. Both men are two wins each in their head-to-head matches. Since their meeting in the final of Wimbledon 2023, where Carlos Alcaraz won after a marathon in five sets (1-6, 7-6 [6]6-1, 3-6, 6-4), they faced each other in the final in Cincinnati in August, where Djokovic regained the advantage (5-7, 7-6 [7]7-6 [4]). The Spaniard, who has not hidden his ambitions to become number 1 again by the end of the season, is returning from a back and foot injury after his defeat in the round of 16 against Grigor Dimitrov in the round of 16 at Shanghai (5-7, 6-2, 6-4).
The Spaniard could, however, gain strength during the competition, with the solid Karen Khachanov on his way in a potential third round then Stefanos Tsitsipas (7th), Alexander Zverev (10) or the surprising Frenchman Ugo Humbert (28th) in the quarters of final. It’s still a long way off but the horizon of a semi-final against number 3 Daniil Medvedev is also possible.
A remake of the Djokovic-Rune finale in quarts
Novak Djokovic could rival Holger Rune again prematurely, since they appear in the same quarter of the table. To do this, the young Dane would first have to get out of a possible duel against Stan Wawrinka, who already met last year and whose shock caused a lot of noise, then against the American Taylor Fritz (9th), in a part of the table which also includes the Frenchman Arthur Fils (38th). A good run in the tournament could also ensure his participation in the Turin Masters straight away.
An interesting quarter of a painting
The third quarter of the table is perhaps the most intriguing. First, by the presence of the Frenchman Gaël Monfils, who entered the general table thanks to his protected ranking and arrives with full confidence after his title in Stockholm on Sunday which allowed him to re-enter the top 100 (currently 89th). He will face Francisco Cerúndolo in the first round and could meet the finalist of Roland-Garros 2023, Casper Ruud (8th), in the following round.
This particularly tough quarter of the table also includes the recent Shanghai winner Hubert Hurkacz (11th) who will meet the man he beat in the semi-finals, the American Sebastian Korda for his entry into the competition. And on the other side, Frances Tiafoe, Grigor Dimitrov, Nicolás Jarry and especially the world number 3, Daniil Medvedev.
Hopes on the French side
On the French side, no less than fifteen players will be present at the Masters. Eight directly enter the main draw (compared to only four last year and all by invitation). Adrian Mannarino, 24th in the world and winner of the Astana tournament at the end of September, will be pitted against a qualifier. The French number 1 will also have a lot to do in his quarter of the table and could find Tommy Paul (12th) in the second round then world number 5 Andrey Rublev in the next.
Also in this game Jannik Sinner (4th) winner in Beijing and Alex de Minaur (13th) on the road to the quarters. Ugo Humbert who returned to the top 30 by notably beating two top 10s last month, Rublev in Beijing and Tsitsipas in Shanghai, and Arthur Fils who reached the final of the Antwerp tournament, will also face qualifiers in the first round.
2023-10-27 19:52:43
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