Rolex Paris Masters: welcome to the quarters… Friday’s program

2023-11-03 13:39:55

After a day of Thursday marked by discussions around the withdrawal of the Italian Jannik Sinner, tired of having played far too late in the night from Wednesday to Thursday, and a singles day session finished at… 4:30 p.m., tennis resumes its rights with the quarter-finals of the Masters 1000 in Paris.

With inevitably less expected guests with the disappearances along the way of the seeds n° 2 (Alcaraz), n° 3 (Medvedev) and n° 4 (Sinner). But there’s no reason to shy away from the fun, there will still be a great show on the Accor Arena Central.

The Bulgarian Grigor Dimitrov, (32 years old and No. 17) semi-finalist in Shanghai and winner of Medvedev on Wednesday, challenges Hubert Hurkacz (No. 11), the man in form of the moment, winner of 15 of his last 17 matches in Masters 1000.

The Pole, who will go down in history as the man to have ended Federer’s career with a 6-0 (at Wimbledon 2021), already winner in Shanghai, attempts the double at Bercy and is still chasing a place in the Turin Masters.

After a season where his romance with the Spaniard Paula Badosa was more talked about than his titles on the circuit, Stefanos Tsitsipas (No. 6) seems in better spirits on the court. The Greek, a solid knocker of Zverev in the round of 16 to secure his ticket to the Masters, faces the Russian Karen Khachanov, titled in Paris in 2018.

Andrey Rublev (No. 5) hopes to continue his journey against the Australian De Minaur. The fiery Russian has already shattered his record. In five appearances, he had never made it past the second round…

World No. 1 Novak Djokovic will also be there. Sick, he nevertheless managed to qualify for the quarter-finals by overthrowing the Dutchman Tallon Griekspoor (23rd) 4-6, 7-6 (7/2), 6-4. He will find Holger Rune, the new protégé of Boris Becker, winner of Altmaier 6-3, 6-3 and in clear recovery of form, for a remake of the 2022 final won by the young Dane to everyone’s surprise.

The quarter-final program. Center Court. From 2 p.m.: Hurkacz (Pol/n°11) – Dimitrov (Bul), Tsitsipas (Gre/n°7) – Khachanov (Rus/n°16). From 7:30 p.m.: Djokovic (Ser/n°1) – Rune (Dan/n°6), De Minaur (Aus/n°13) – Rublev (Rus/n°5).