Just more than three weeks after capturing his 13th Roland Garros crown, Rafael Nadal returns to Paris as one of seven Top 10 players seeking their first title at the Rolex Paris Masters.
Nadal will attempt to tie Novak Djokovic’s record haul of 36 ATP Masters 1000 titles with a championship run in the French capital. The Spaniard, who owns a 19-5 record at the final Masters 1000 event of the year, will open his campaign against Filip Krajinovic or Feliciano Lopez in the second round.
The 20-time Grand Slam champion will attempt to claim his 1000th tour-level victory in his opening match of the tournament (999-201). If he reaches that milestone, he could face 15th seed Borna Coric in the third round for the fifth time in their ATP Head2Head series (tied at 2-2).
One court, two champions👇@RafaelNadal @stanwawrinka #RolexParisMasters pic.twitter.com/Cb0G6VF98G
— ROLEX PARIS MASTERS (@RolexPMasters) October 30, 2020
Nadal shares the top quarter of the draw with countryman Pablo Carreno Busta and eighth seed David Goffin. Carreno Busta, the recent US Open semi-finalist, will meet French wild card Hugo Gaston in the first round. Earlier this month, Gaston forced two-time Roland Garros runner-up Dominic Thiem to five sets on Court Philippe-Chatrier.
Fourth seed Alexander Zverev headlines the second quarter of the draw. The German, who won back-to-back titles in Cologne this month, will meet Miomir Kecmanovic or Nur-Sultan finalist John Millman in the second round.
Zverev is joined in a packed section of the draw by fifth seed Andrey Rublev. The in-form Russian is attempting to secure one of the two remaining qualification positions at the Nitto ATP Finals, which will be held at The O2 in London from 15-22 November.
In the bottom half of the draw, second seed Stefanos Tsitsipas will begin his title bid against Antwerp champion Ugo Humbert or Casper Ruud. Making his third straight appearance at the Masters 1000 event, last year’s quarter-finalist is joined in the fourth quarter by seventh seed Matteo Berrettini and 2014 runner-up Milos Raonic.
Third seed Daniil Medvedev will look to build on his quarter-final run in Vienna next week. The Russian could meet the man who beat him in Vienna in his first match: Kevin Anderson. Anderson will begin the tournament against a qualifier or a lucky loser in the first round.
Sixth seed Diego Schwartzman also appears in the third quarter of the draw. The Roland Garros semi-finalist will face home favourite Richard Gasquet or Taylor Fritz in the second round. If Schwartzman makes it through that match, he could face 2018 champion Karen Khachanov in the third round.
Other notable first-round matches include Stan Wawrinka and Daniel Evans’ second meeting in four weeks. At the St. Petersburg Open, Wawrinka saved three match points to extend his unbeaten ATP Head2Head record against the Brit to 4-0. Evans is in good form, set to compete in the Vienna semi-finals on Saturday.
Felix Auger-Aliassime and Marin Cilic will also meet in the first round. Auger-Aliassime will be making his tournament debut, while Cilic will be appearing at the Accor Arena for the 12th time. The former World No. 3 achieved his best result in 2016, when he reached the semi-finals.
from Tennis - ATP World Tour https://ift.tt/3mHNXWG
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