Four men remain in contention for the 2021 Rolex Paris Masters. Three of them have absolutely dominated hard-court action in recent months, while Hubert Hurkacz earned the right to play the ATP Finals thanks to his semifinal run here. Who do you think will make the final?
Novak Djokovic vs Hubert Hurkacz
Head-to-head: Djokovic 2-0
We still don’t know much about Novak Djokovic’s form as the Serbian is playing his first event since the US Open. His match against Marton Fucsovics had him quite rusty and screamed vulnerability, while in the next attempt versus Taylor Fritz, the World No. 1 performed an absolute clinic of exposing the American’s weaker movement.
Hubert Hurkacz managed to qualify for the ATP Finals with his quarterfinal run here, but it could be argued that he hasn’t really played well in Paris so far. The matches against James Duckworth and Dominik Koepfer were thrillers, and even in the straight-set win over Tommy Paul, the Pole almost blew a 5-0 lead.
Djokovic’s second match in Paris was already much better and it looks like the rust is quickly disappearing. The Serbian won both head-to-head meetings at Grand Slams two years ago and should be well-positioned to triumph over Hurkacz again. In very slow indoor conditions, the Pole would really need to step out of his comfort zone to keep pushing Djokovic off the baseline. Nothing less than a very special performance from Hurkacz will suffice.
Prediction: Djokovic in 2
Daniil Medvedev vs Alexander Zverev
Head-to-head: Zverev 5-4
Alexander Zverev once held a dominant 4-0 lead in this matchup, but he’s now lost the last three at the expense of Daniil Medvedev. The form advantage has to be with the German this time, as he’s now 28-2 in his last 30 matches. Zverev has been almost unstoppable recently and has been very dominant on serve in Paris so far. The 24-year-old has also saved 16 out of 18 breakpoints saved. If he can continue to be that clutch, he’s going to be a hard man to stop.
Medvedev hasn’t really been as spotless this week. Not only did he drop a set to Sebastian Korda, but he also miraculously avoided another decider against Hugo Gaston. The Frenchman had three set points on his own serve and only has himself to blame for losing that one.
There’s little point arguing that the two are easily among the best three hard-court players in the world right now. Zverev has been a lot more likely to flop in bigger matches, but he’s usually excellent at the ATP Masters 1000 level. His struggles with finding the right balance between aggression and defense also seem to be more or less gone. If he can continue to hit his forehand as aggressively as he’s been, he might have a slight edge here.
Prediction: Zverev in 3
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