The full round of 16 is set to be played Thursday at the ATP Masters in Paris after Jannik Sinner’s late night win as the final player to reach the round. He is looking for consecutive titles while another powerful European Hubert Hurkacz looks to win consecutive Masters 1000 titles. Paris not only a chance to cement qualifying into the ATP Finals, but many players’ last chance to end the year on a high note. Alexander Zverev, Stefanos Tsitsipas, and Holger Rune are all in action and hoping to finish difficult seasons on a high note. All matches are previewed here at Last Word on Tennis, including four in a separate article.
ATP Paris Day 4 Predictions
Hubert Hurkacz vs Francisco Cerundolo
Head-to-head: 1-0 Hurkacz
Hurkacz is playing some of the best tennis of anyone on tour. He is coming off a title in Shanghai then a final last week in Vienna. Hurkacz has shown no signs of slowing down. The fast hard courts suit him well as he has held serve in 24 of the 25 games so far here in Paris. Cerundolo has made significant improvements on hard courts of late. He plays a quite different game from Hurkacz relying more on groundstrokes and grinding baseline rallies to look for a winner. The court speed heavily favors Hurkacz, who will keep the points short and not allow Cerundolo to get into the match.
Predictions: Hurkacz in 2
Stefanos Tsitsipas vs Alexander Zverev
Head-to-head: 7-4 Tsitsipas
While they have played 11 times previously, they have yet to face off in 2023 and this is just their second match on a hard court since 2019. While Tsitsipas has had the overall advantage, Zverev has won their past two meetings on hard courts, with the fast indoor courts playing more into his favor. Tsitsipas has been in poor form for most of the second half of this season though he has played much better in recent weeks. He has still struggled to win convincingly but is making progress toward his early-season form. While Zverev has been stronger overall, he has been equally unconvincing, spending over six hours on courts through his first two rounds. Neither player has inspired a ton of confidence for a deep run but this should be a good match. Indoor hard favors Zverev and with similar form that will be the difference with his better serve and more compact strokes.
Prediction: Zverev in 3
Holger Rune vs Daniel Altmaier
Head-to-head: 1-0 Rune
The way Rune has been playing, it is easy to forget that he is defending his title here in Paris. He has a favorable opponent in Altmaier who came into Paris on a five match losing streak and benefitted from Taylor Fritz’s withdraw from the event. Run was on a similarly poor run, losing six of his first seven fall hard court matches before reaching the Basel semifinal last week. Rune has lost to players at all levels so an upset is certainly possible here. He is fortunate that Altmaier has struggled as well and his wins have been against much lesser opponents. Even with Rune’s struggles, he knows how to play in Paris and Altmaier has never beaten a top-10 player outside of clay courts. Rune is struggling but his brief form will give him enough momentum to win a match that he should.
Prediction: Rune in 2
Jannik Sinner vs Alex de Minaur
Head-to-head: 5-0 Sinner
Sinner’s dominance in the matchup may be surprising based on ranking but their two styles simply favor Sinner. Not only has Sinner won all of their prior matchups but he has taken the last nine sets they have played. De Minaur can be dangerous with a strong serve and quick court coverage. Sinner’s massive power especially from the forehand side will be far too much for even de Minaur’s elite defending to handle. De Minaur is elite physically and will hope that Sinner is fatigued after his run to the Vienna title last week. However, he spent limited time on court before the final so he should have plenty in the tank. Sinner matches up well in general against de Minaur and the fast courts will emphasize his power. Sinner will continue his great run of form.
Prediction: Sinner in 2
Main Photo Credit: Danielle Parhizkaran-USA TODAY Sports
