Nothing makes sense at the ATP Paris Masters, with Hubert Hurkacz, Daniil Medvedev, and Rafael Nadal exiting early in Round 2, after a quick Jannik Sinner exit in Round 1. Gilles Simon upsetting Taylor Fritz (after upsetting Andy Murray) also crashed the draw, as did Cameron Norrie\u2019s loss to Corentin Moutet. Novak Djokovic continues to roll on, at least, giving the tournament some semblance of normalcy, but even then it was beginning to feel normal not to see him in draws. Could the seedings hold up to a blockbuster final featuring Djokovic vs Alcaraz? We make our calls below, including Casper Ruud vs Lorenzo Musetti.<\/p>\n
Casper Ruud has not looked very good since the US Open, and indeed has dropped two spots from his high of #2 in the world. He much prefers clay, and that may be the reason for the decline, but he\u2019s had a fine hard court year overall in 2022. But in the current skid, for wins in the Top 100 since the US Open<\/a>, he has only Richard Gasquet to boast of, which is very uninspiring. Musetti followed up his title in Naples with a dud, dropping a first round match to Albert Ramos-Vinolas, although he\u2019s back up again with wins over Nikoloz Basilashvili and Marin Cilic here in Paris. I have trouble picking against the #4 player in the world, and I can\u2019t here, but this one has upset potential.
\nPrediction: Ruud in 3<\/em><\/p>\n