The Paris Masters 2023 just got interesting. Novak Djokovic is back after a little break but there is more breaking news. Carlos Alcaraz and Daniil Medvedev have both been knocked out in their Round of 32 matches at the event, making Djokovic suddenly the outright favorite.
Despite practising intensely with Djokovic prior to the tournament, Alcaraz could not hold up against Russia’s Roman Safuillin. It is pertinent to point out that the Spanish youngster continues to have a dismal record in the indoors event in Paris. So he seemed to be spot on when talking about the reason behind not being able to pick one particular player as his favorite to win.
Speaking to the media before the tournament, Carlos Alcaraz conceded that the draw is very wide open and any player on their day can win this tournament. Perhaps taking his present state into account too, the 20-year-old said that at this stage of the season, every player is not fully fit, since the rest of the calendar year is packed with tournaments.
This is an extremely critical factor to take into account. Even the legendary Rafael Nadal has never won the Paris Masters title in his 20-year career. Many other Grand Slam champions have failed in it too, making Carlos Alcaraz not the only one with a poor showing there. Over the years, players have failed to defend their title there as well.
Carlos Alcaraz was quoted as saying in the press conference about surely picking Novak Djokovic as his only favorite to win in Paris. He wrongly picked Daniil Medvedev while Jannik Sinner is perhaps the ideal challenger to Djokovic going for another title.
“Well, I’m not gonna say that I’m 100% because it could be a lie. You know, at this time of the year, you know, after a long year. I’m coming here feeling well enough, you know, to do a good result here. I don’t know if he has more chances or me. Jannik, for example, is playing unbelievable. Medvedev as well. There are a lot of great players that are playing in high level, you know, so I think that the draw is really, really open, and a lot of players can win this tournament.”
The Paris Masters could be a dress rehearsal for some top players as the ATP Finals is coming soon. Djokovic, Sinner, Holger Rune and Andrey Rublev are the other four players who are in contention, making the Masters tournament still important to win as the season closes.
Carlos Alcaraz and Daniil Medvedev to suffer in rankings
Carlos Alcaraz and Daniil Medvedev are ranked No.2 and No.3 in the world respectively. While their rankings might not drop after the Paris tournament, losing points will effectively end any of their hopes to challenge Novak Djokovic. Djokovic’s intent to pick and choose tournaments to compete in, for giving adequate rest his body, seems to be working wonders for him.
In both his previous tournaments, Djokovic ended up winning, i.e. in Cincinnati Masters and the US Open. It is likely that the World No.1 wins both the Paris and the ATP Finals titles to end his season as the undisputed No.1. So the contest for the other top spots could heat up as Jannik Sinner won recently in Beijing and Vienna, while Daniil Medvedev made it to both those finals as well.
