The race to Turin is now over, as despite losing their matches on Thursday and Friday, Alexander Zverev and Holger Rune are secured in the ATP Finals field, with Hubert Hurkacz, Alex de Minaur, and Karen Khachanov being the last players eliminated. The Rolex Paris Masters is still going with exciting semifinals ahead. That includes three Turin contenders and Grigor Dimitrov as the odd one out. Who do you think will battle for the trophy on Sunday?
ATP Paris Semifinal Predictions
Grigor Dimitrov vs Stefanos Tsitsipas
Head-to-head: Tsitsipas 6-1
Grigor Dimitrov’s very consistent season finally has some highlights now with a Shanghai semifinal (beating Carlos Alcaraz) and the same stage in Paris (beating Daniil Medvedev). A perfect reward for how good he’s been this year would be his second ATP 1000 title (Cincinnati 2017) and first trophy in six years, but it won’t be easy.
Stefanos Tsitsipas dominates this head-to-head, although it’s not quite as bad as it seems. Their last two matches went to a deciding set tie-break, and they’re actually tied 1-1 indoors. The Greek upped his game the last couple of weeks and will have gathered some nice momentum for the ATP Finals, but maybe this is Dimitrov’s moment? Certainly can’t exclude it with the way he’s been playing at ATP Paris.
Prediction: Dimitrov in 3
Novak Djokovic vs Andrey Rublev
Head-to-head: 4-1 Djokovic
Novak Djokovic fought off a stomach bug against Tallon Griekspoor and was much sharper in his match against Holger Rune. Despite another long battle, he actually managed to fend off the 20-year-old and prove superior physically as well in the third set. These two grueling contests might take their toll on him at some point, but we’re talking about a player who’s been incredible at managing that, especially later in his career.
Andrey Rublev makes another deep run and keeps showing he’s been the fifth-best player this year. But can he trouble the Serbian? Other than the Belgrade final where Djokovic wasn’t fully fit yet, this matchup has been a nightmare for the 26-year-old. His linear, one-dimensional baseline patterns aren’t enough and he doesn’t have the variety or ability to step out of his comfort zone to catch the World No. 1 off-guard.
Prediction: Djokovic in 2
Main Photo Credit: Danielle Parhizkaran – USA TODAY Sports
