Although the sporting year is edging closer to its close, there is still plenty of action before the end of 2021 and when it comes to the tennis court, that action takes us to the French capital city of Paris.
That’s because the Rolex Masters has once again returned and with the draw for the tournament now made, those entrants of this year’s edition of the competition now plan their own potential routes to the final.
A route that for the top-eight seeds, is slightly shorter than everyone else’s, and with this handful of world-class names being afforded a bye to the second round of proceedings, it is one less requirement for them to break sweat.
While of course those eight and every other entrant in this year’s Paris Masters will be hoping to break serve and if they can achieve that on a regular basis, considerable progress should be made throughout the week.
Of the eight that have been placed straight into the second round, the overall winner will likely come from this select pool, and BetMGM in NY has odds listed for both the outright and individual match markets.
In terms of the outright market, it usually makes sense to start with the number one seed, and this year it is none other than Novak Djokovic and the Serbian star already known who awaits him in the second round.
Lying in wait for the tennis ace is none other than Marton Fucsovics and with the Hungarian eventually disposing of Italian Fabio Fognini by two sets to one in the opening round, he has been rewarded with a pairing of Djokovic.
Whether that is Fucsovics’ last action of the week is something that remains to be seen and if the form guide is followed, then there is every chance that the 34-year top seed books a place in the third round.
Also lying in the top half of the draw and also in Section 1 is fifth seed Andrey Rublev and after being afforded the same luxury as the other seven elite seeds, he will now await the winner of either Lorenzo Sonego or Taylor Fritz from the first round.
Staying in Section 1 and there has already been progressing from a British point of view and with Cameron Norrie being the name on everybody’s lips right now, he made light work of Federico Delbonis in the opening round.
Britain’s Cameron Norrie stayed in contention for one of the two remaining ATP Finals spots by cruising past Federico Delbonis in the first round of the #ParisMasters https://t.co/PjFustpcWi
— Sportstar (@sportstarweb) November 1, 2021
Now Norrie will wait and see who comes out on top between Filip Krajinovic and Reilly Opelka and the British tennis community will also wait and see how Andy Murray fares in his first Paris showing of 2021.
With the former Wimbledon winner having a patchy year because of injury, it is once again a wildcard entry that has been afforded to the Scot and although some fading forces would be embarrassed by such an invite, Murray is more than happy to swallow his pride and accept it.
An acceptance that sees him paired up against qualifier Jenson Brooksby and although Murray will be the obvious favorite to advance, betting on the Dunblane-born player does come with an element of risk these days.
Then again, they do say that risk equals reward, and should he manage to clear his first French hurdle, he will then face this year’s number seven seed – a seeding that has been handed to Polish player Hubert Hurkacz.
That potential matchup lies in Section 2 of the draw’s top half and also currently awaiting an opponent in this part of the draw is Greece’s Stefanos Tsitsipas, as the third seed will be keeping an eye on the tie between Lloyd Harris and Alex de Minaur.
Of course, it would be remiss to overlook last year’s winner of the tournament and with Dannii Medvedev being placed as this year’s second seed, his first task will be to get the better of Belarussian Ilya Ivashka.
Ivashka was in dominant mood in the first round, as he made relatively light work of Spaniard Albert Ramos Vinolas. Now he will need to make sure that Medvedev does not end up making light work of him. Something that will likely be the case by the time their second-round tie comes to an end.
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