The last Masters 1000 of the season will start on Monday in Paris-Bercy. A few days ago, the tournament organizers had to take Novak Djokovics decision not to defend last years title. The Serbian legend - who played the 'Six Kings Slam' in Saudi Arabia - may have already finished her season and could miss the Nitto ATP Finals in Turin even if she qualifies.
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The two top favorites also in Paris-Bercy will be Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz who - for different reasons - have never particularly shone in this tournament. The Italian ace never went beyond the round of 16 reached in 2023, while the Spaniard already stopped in the second round last year against the Russian Roman Safiullin.
The 21-year-old from Murcia has found good feelings after having suffered a lot in the last part of the summer, as shown by the premature eliminations in Cincinnati and especially at the US Open. The four-time Grand Slam champion has worked hard on himself over the last month and a half, winning the ATP 500 in Beijing at the end of a really beautiful final against his great rival Sinner.
Having played in Saudi Arabia last week, the worlds number 2 preferred not to play either Basel or Vienna this week to practice hard. The former world number 1 will try to get a good result in Paris-Bercy, so he can reach the Nitto ATP Finals in Turin and the Davis Cup Finals in Malaga with great confidence.
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Carlitos' path
The draw was not particularly bad with Alcaraz. The Spanish champion will have a bye in the first round, while in the second round he will face one between Nicolas Jarry and a qualified. His opponent in the third round will probably be Ugo Humbert or Brandon Nakashima, while in the quarterfinals he could face Tommy Paul or Casper Ruud. The most likely opponent in the semi-finals would be Daniil Medvedev, but players like Hubert Hurkacz or the finalist of the last edition Grigor Dimitrov should not be underestimated. Fans and organizers of course dream of a final against Sinner.
In a long interview with Tennis365, top coach Patrick Mouratoglou opened up on Alcaraz and Sinners impressive rise: I think they have completely different tennis, to put them in the same group as Federer, Nadal and Djokovic is difficult. They are the two best by far at the moment and Carlos can do anything. Everything he does he does it perfectly. Forehand is unbelievable, backhand, I dont see any weakness in that backhand.
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He can play flat, slice, his drop shots are incredible, his net play is incredible, he can serve and volley, he serves incredibly well for a guy of his height and physically hes a beast. If you look at the package, its unbelievable, he almost has too many choices and sometimes he can lose his way, and he is super aggressive and he makes many more unforced errors than Sinner.
Then Sinner is a machine. He does less things and at the moment hes trying to add new weapons to his game. Hes not as good as Carlos in many fields but what he does, he does is unbelievable. Taking time away from the opponent, taking the ball early, hitting the ball incredibly hard, with so much security because he doesnt miss and movement is amazing, thats crazy.
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Thats why those matches are so close because whenever Carlos drops a little bit, Sinner is always at the same level, from the start to the end. Do they hit the ball harder than the Big 3? Maybe, its possible, I wouldnt define them like that. Alcaraz and Sinner are much more than just hitting the ball hard.
A new clash with Sinner?
Despite winning two Grand Slam titles each in 2024, there are many points separating the Italian and Spanish in the ATP Race. Jannik was much more regular during the season suffering just six losses, while Carlitos had more drops. This is exactly the aspect on which the 21 year old from Murcia will have to work more if he wants to return to the top of the ATP ranking next year.
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Sinner will defend the title at the Australian Open in January, while Alcaraz will be able to do better than the quarterfinals reached in January. Their rivalry has already produced some very good matches, such as the famous quarter-finals at the 2022 US Open or the final of the tournament in Beijing this year. The Spaniardwon all three official matches played this year, while the Italian prevailed in the exhibition in Saudi Arabia.
