The draw for the Paris Masters has been released, and with world number two Roger Federer opting out after winning his eighth Basel tournament, here is the preview of the prestigious event.
Paris, an indoor hardcourt tournament, will be the ninth and last of the ATP 1000 events of the year. It is, in fact, the only ATP 1000 Masters tournament to be played indoors. The 2017 edition is the 46th time it will be played.
The tournament, which is played on one of the fastest surfaces, is a big favourite among players as it gives them a last-minute chance to enter the year-ending ATP Finals. Now, two slots are open and David Goffin, Juan Martin Del Potro, Pablo Carreño Busta and Jo-Wilfried Tsonga will be hoping to make it.
Brief history
The tournament was preceded by the French Covered Court Championships from 1895 to 1967. Jean Borotra, with 11 wins in the period between the world wars, was the most successful player.
The current tournament debuted in 1968 with the inaugural winner being Czech player Milan Holecek who prevailed over Robert “Bob” Carmichael. For Holecek, it was his only tournament win and he is largely an unknown character on the circuit.
As a former carpenter and boxer, Bob Carmichael, who reached the top ten in singles, was better known as a doubles player of repute. He featured in 34 doubles finals on the circuit with 12 wins. Bob was a well-known coach as well, having provided guidance to Pat Rafter, Darren Cahill, Lleyton Hewitt and Leander Paes.
Since then, the tournament has been held annually, barring four years – 1983-85 and 1971. Some great players who have won the tournament include Arthur Ashe, Ilie Năstase, Boris Becker, Stefan Edberg, Goran Ivanišević, Andre Agassi and Pete Sampras. The player with the most finals appearances here is Becker, who won thrice and lost a final once each to Sampras and Edberg.
Recent history
From the crowned tournament champions since 2001, only Tsonga is in this year’s tournament. Federer, who had defeated Tsonga in 2011, was also supposed to be playing but opted out to concentrate on the end-of-year event.
Tsonga is also the last French player to win here. He had prevailed over David Nalbandian in 2008. For four straight years from 2008-2011, there was at least one Frenchman in the finals – Tsonga featured in 2008 and 2011 and Gael Monfils in 2009 and 2010.
(Photo: Wikicommons)
Tsonga’s win in 2008 was especially credible since Nalbandian was the defending champion with a stunning 6-4 6-0 win over Rafael Nadal in a year where Rafa, apart from winning French Open, had stretched Federer to five sets before dethroning him in 2008. 2007 was the only time Nadal reached the final.
Defending champion Andy Murray, who won last year with a win over John Isner, has chosen not to play either. Furthermore, the most successful player of recent times, Novak Djokovic, is not participating in the competition.
Djokovic has a 4-0 record in finals of the Paris Masters and is the only player in the 50-year history of the tournament to have defended his title here. In 2009, 2013, 2014 and 2015 Novak prevailed against Monfils, David Ferrer, Milos Raonic and Murray respectively.
World no.1, Nadal, who has won two of the four Majors this year, is still very much in the fray. The French Open and Paris Masters together constitute the Paris double and there are only four players who have won both – Ilie Nastase, Andre Agassi, Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic. Federer and Djokovic have not done it the same year, while Nastase and Agassi did it in 1973 and 1999 respectively.
Can Nadal repeat their feat?
2017 preview
Federer, with his current golden run, would have been a favourite for the Paris Masters and his last-minute withdrawal has opened the door for several contenders.
Nadal and del Potro will most likely be the biggest favourites.
Nadal played the Shanghai finals with a strapped knee, which is a worrying factor, but hopefully it is just a niggle and he will be back at peak fitness in time for Paris. Del Potro has had a stunning second half of the year and is a firm contender.
Nadal definitely has a tough draw, with the Zverev brothers (Alexander and Mischa), del Potro and Grigor Dimitrov all being in his half. His toughest match could well be at the semi-final stage if Del Potro makes it as well.
Tsonga-Goffin and Del Potro-Zverev in the third round will be entertaining matches. Another interesting match is Busta and Sam Querrey in the third round, especially since Busta is just 80 points ahead of Querrey. Finally, the first round itself will see an interesting match between Andrey Rublev and Fernando Verdasco with the winner going on to
meet Kevin Anderson in the second, and then Dominic Thiem awaiting the winner in the third.
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