Novak Djokovic has been the Prince Of Paris in recent times, successful 15 of his previous 16 matches and taking the title in his previous two appearances in 2019 and 2021. However on Thursday on the Rolex Paris Masters the Serb runs into the one participant he’s fallen to throughout that streak: Karen Khachanov.
The 38-time ATP Masters 1000 champion holds a 7-1 Head2Head benefit over his rival, however a straight-sets defeat within the 2018 closing in Bercy, the place Khachanov claimed his lone Masters 1000 trophy, certainly nonetheless offers Djokovic some indigestion.
The file holder of 373 weeks as No. 1 within the Pepperstone ATP Rankings is aiming for his fourth victory over Khachanov this season (Dubai, Belgrade, Astana). He’s additionally chasing his fifth title of the yr after triumphs at Rome, Wimbledon, Tel Aviv and Astana, the latter two coming in consecutive weeks. The indoor hard-court occasion in France presents a brand new problem, even for the six-time champion.
“The circumstances are completely different,” Djokovic stated following his opening match in opposition to Maxime Cressy. “From final yr, it’s faster. The balls are quick and so they undergo the courtroom. It makes it more difficult to interrupt serve.”
Khachanov, World No. 19 within the Pepperstone ATP Rankings, will depend on his heavy first supply and firepower from the baseline to strive his hand at one other upset within the French capital within the fourth match on Court docket Central.
Earlier on Thursday, World No. 1 Carlos Alcaraz will look to again up his robust begin in Paris as he faces 2017 Nitto ATP Finals champion Grigor Dimitrov for the primary time.
“First spherical in each match is rarely simple,” Alcaraz stated following his opening match. “It’s important to be actually centered, you must attempt to get good rhythm, good feeling within the first spherical. I am actually pleased with the efficiency, the extent that I performed, and I am wanting ahead to getting higher within the subsequent spherical.”
The 19-year-old Spaniard is aiming for his third ATP Masters 1000 crown (Miami & Madrid 2022), which might add to his season-leading 5 Tour-level titles. He’s additionally trying to tighten his grip on the transformed year-end No. 1 Pepperstone ATP Rating, which shall be offered on the Nitto ATP Finals in Turin.
Holger Rune, 19, has reached not less than the ultimate in every of his previous three tournaments, together with in Stockholm, the place he collected the title. After the Dane spoiled Hubert Hurkacz’s hopes of returning to the Nitto ATP Finals, the 19-year-old seems to earn back-to-back wins in opposition to Prime-10 gamers when he meets Andrey Rublev, whose qualification for Turin was confirmed Wednesday.
Casper Ruud, who nonetheless has an out of doors shot to complete the yr No. 1, kicks off Thursday’s card with a first-time assembly in opposition to proficient Italian Lorenzo Musetti, who subsequent week will spearhead the eight-man area on the 21-and-under Intesa Sanpaolo Subsequent Gen ATP Finals in Milan.
Norway’s World No. 4, a two-time Grand Slam finalist this yr, is trying to regain kind forward of his second look on the Nitto ATP Finals, the place final yr he made the semi-finals. Though simply two wins shy of his fiftieth match win on the yr, the 23-year-old got here into Paris on a three-match shedding streak.
.@CasperRuud98 is thought for his forehand, and tonight vs Gasquet it was in full move
FH Shot High quality context 👇
Tour avg. 7.2
Ruud 52-week avg. 8.5 (probably the greatest on tour)
Ruud vs Gasquet 9.3 🔥#TennisInsights | @RolexPMasters | #RolexParisMasters pic.twitter.com/GRxJQtMVxO— Tennis Insights (@tennis_insights) November 1, 2022
French World No. 64 Corentin Moutet will return to Court docket Central lower than 16 hours after his early-morning win over Cameron Norrie to battle fifth seed Stefanos Tsitsipas for a spot within the quarter-finals. Moutet, 23, closed out a third-set tie-break win over Norrie at 3.04 a.m. Thursday morning.
Tsitsipas, who boasts a 58-21 file on the season, is chasing his second Masters 1000 title of the yr (Monte Carlo). He additionally has an out of doors shot of pushing for year-end No. 1 honours if Carlos Alcaraz doesn’t have a deep run in Paris and on the Nitto ATP Finals.