Main draw action kicks off on Monday at the last “regular” ATP Tour event of the season at the ATP Paris Masters. There are 14 matches on a packed day one schedule and, as always, we here at LWOT are offering our predictions for every match on the slate, including Frances Tiafoe vs Lorenzo Sonego, Taylor Fritz vs Alejandro Davidovich Fokina and Alexander Bublik vs Mikael Ymer. But who will come out on top?
ATP Paris Masters Day 1 Predictions
Nikoloz Basilashvili vs Quentin Halys
Head-to-head: Basilashvili 1-0 Halys
The two met at Wimbledon, where Nikoloz Basilashvili prevailed in four sets despite winning 15 fewer points than Quentin Halys. The Frenchman will now get a chance to show that he deserved to win that clash. He really should do that if he plays as well as he did in the qualifying campaign. Especially as Basilashvili is still wildly out of form whilst Halys should be able to rely on the support of the always vocal Parisian crowd.
Prediction: Halys in 2
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Sebastian Baez vs Karen Khachanov
Head-to-head: first meeting
Sebastian Baez landed that surprise win over Lorenzo Sonego in Naples and it’s good for him that he did, because otherwise he’d have arrived in Paris in the midst of a 13-match losing streak. For a player who looked poised for a breakthrough year, that’s bitterly disappointing. The Argentinian is likely to raise his hard-court game a bit in the future, but he hasn’t been able to do that at all this year. Karen Khachanov has been solid, if unspectacular in the last few weeks, and that should be way more than enough.
Prediction: Khachanov in 2
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Sebastian Korda vs Alex de Minaur
Head-to-head: Korda 1-0 de Minaur
This match should be very exciting. Alex de Minaur was a little unlucky to face in-form Holger Rune in successive match in the semifinals in Stockholm and the first round in Basel. Sebastian Korda, meanwhile, is enjoying a fine late-season surge and comes into this event fresh from consecutive runner-up appearances in Gijon and Antwerp. It’s also pretty hard to tell who’ll benefit from the slower indoor courts in Paris. Form-wise though, the slight advantage goes to the American.
Prediction: Korda in 3
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Jannik Sinner vs Marc-Andrea Huesler
Head-to-head: Sinner 1-0 Huesler
You never want to face someone like Marc-Andrea Huesler in the opening round. The lefty Swiss will hit bombs with his serve and try to wrap up the points as early as possible. That said, Jannik Sinner’s usually extremely comfortable on indoor hard and has power of his own to call on, but hyper-aggressive players like Huesler tend to have huge upset potential. The Italian is still the favourite to come through, but don’t be surprised if it gets complicated.
Prediction: Sinner in 3
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