Zverev advances in Paris and confirms his regularity in the ATP Masters 1000 | ATP Tour

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Zverev advances in Paris and confirms his regularity in the ATP Masters 1000

October 30, 2024

With his victory on Wednesday at the Rolex Paris Masters, Alexander Zverev became the fourth player to reach the round of 16 in all nine single-season ATP Masters 1000 events in the series’ history. The third seed reached the milestone with a 7-6(2), 6-3 victory over Tallon Griekspoor in his opening match, his fifth consecutive Lexus ATP Head2Head victory against the Dutchman and his fourth this season.

Zverev, who won his sixth ATP Masters 1000 title in Rome this May, is now 19-1 in opening matches on the year. The German shook off a break point in each of his first two service games against Griekspoor, and later fought off a set point on serve at 4-5, but struck his way from there to pull away. . From that set point saved, he won 16 consecutive points on serve to close the first set and start the second quickly.

Zverev converted his only break point of the match to take a 4-2 lead in the second, a lead he managed with his 86% first serve wins. The German will face Frenchman Arthur Fils for a place in the quarterfinals.

The 20-year-old defeated Marin Cilic and Jan-Lennard Struff to earn his first wins in the Rolex Paris Masters main draw. Zverev and Fils have split two previous meetings at the Lexus ATP Head2Head this season, with Zverev winning on the grass of Halle and Fils taking a final duel on the clay of Hamburg. Both matches went to three sets.

Meanwhile, Alexei Popyrin wants to dress as the protagonist in Bercy. The Australian reached the round of 16 of the Rolex Paris Masters this Wednesday, imposing a versatile game with which to command respect in the French capital. In the last ATP Masters 1000 of the season, a stage given to unpredictable champions, the aussie He was responsible for annulling one of the main candidates for the throne.

The No. 24 in the PIF ATP Rankings passed a toughness test under cover at Bercy, keeping his eye on former champion Daniil Medvedev 6-4 2-6 7-6(4) to create an earthquake in the main draw. The adventures over the net, useful to break the rhythm of a rocky rival, fueled the Australian’s options in a high-voltage match. Alexei managed to quell the fourth seed’s comeback attempt, buried by 14 double faults on the way to defeat.

The victory helped Popyrin close the gap (1-3) against Medvedev in the Lexus ATP Head2Head history. The Australian, who added his second Top 5 victory of the 2024 season, folded the hands of a relentless rival to date, capable of defeating him in prestigious events such as Wimbledon, Australian Open and Miami in previous years.

Above all, Popyrin underlined his bravery to break into the best players on the big stages. The Australian, who won his first ATP Masters 1000 in Canada in August and defeated Novak Djokovic at the US Open, roared again under the gaze of a locker room heavyweight.

Now, the possibility of repeating glory in the gold category of the ATP Tour is placed in Popyrin’s hands. He aussie will have to navigate a four full of obvious threats, with Karen Khachanov as an obstacle in the round of 16, after the 2018 champion ends the streak of Frenchman Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard, recent winner in Basel.

Medvedev leaves Paris-Bercy with only one match played on the indoor tour, with a lower performance than in previous years in this type of tournaments. The current world No. 4 heads to the Nitto ATP Finals for the sixth consecutive season, where he will try to regain the throne achieved in 2020.

Did you know that…?
No Australian has managed to win the individual title at the Rolex Paris Masters. Since its establishment on the ATP Tour calendar in the 1968 season, the aussies Bob Carmichael (1968), Mark Philippoussis (2000) and Lleyton Hewitt (2002) managed to reach the final of the ATP Masters 1000 in Paris.