Paris Masters 2024 Round 2 Recap

Round 2 at the 2024 Paris Masters saw a raft of homegrown success as Ugo Humbert, Arthur Fils, Arthur Rinderknech, Adrian Manarino, and Arthur Cazaux progressed into the last sixteen. 

With Bercy holding the event for the last time, the French contingent seems intent on putting on a show for the locals. Only former champion Karen Khachanov prevented a sextet of Gaulois in round 3 as he ended Giovanni Mpetshi’s Perricard’s unbeaten run with a three-set win.

Upsets were also afoot, with Alexei Popryin seeing off Daniil Medvedev, Andrey Rublev losing to Francisco Cerundolo, Casper Ruud falling to Jordan Thompson, and the in-form Jack Draper defeating Taylor Fritz.

The full results are below.

Rolex Paris Masters Round of 32 Results

Alcaraz Too Jazzy For Jarry

After Sinner’s withdrawal, Carlos Alcaraz is effectively the top seed in Paris, and he began his Bercy campaign with a strong performance by defeating Nicolas Jarry 7-5, 6-1.

Alcaraz lost to the Chilean earlier this year in the Buenos Aires semi-final, but Jarry’s form has dipped since then, while Alcaraz has captured two more Grand Slams.

The Spaniard started strong with a break in the opening game, and although he had a slight blip when trying to serve out the set, he responded with another break to take it 7-5.

Although Jarry pressured Alcaraz with four break chances in the second set, he remained resilient. He ultimately secured a one-hour, 30-minute victory, converting 4 of 5 break points and improving to 3-1 in their H2H.

I think I played really good tennis [in the first set], but it wasn’t very easy in the end. I’m just really happy to get through the opening set; it was essential for me to come into the second with more confidence. I [need] time to get used to the speed of the court. It’s been two years since I have won a match here in Paris-Bercy, so every time that I keep going is a gift for me. Alcaraz on his win.

Dimitrov Edges Etcheverry

Grigor Dimitrov kept his ATP Finals hopes alive thanks to a hard-fought 6-7(9), 6-3, 7-5 win over Tomas Martin Etcheverry.  

The Bulgarian looked tired in Vienna after losing Machac, so I wasn’t too optimistic about what he had left in the tank.

However, he showcased his resilience on Wednesday, coming through a gruelling two-hour, 45-minute match, saving all three break points he faced.

Grigor is currently 10th in the live race, but if he puts together a deep run in Bercy, he’s in with a shot of making Turin.

It’s tough conditions, at the end of the year it’s very tricky. Everyone wants to empty their tank completely. He played an amazing first set. I’m far from the game I really want to play, but I’m adjusting. To win matches in that manner is way better for me than playing a clean match. I’m really happy with the fight. Of course, I really want to win every single match, but if I’m able to [show] that fight, I’m in a good place. I would give a lot to be in [Turin]. I’m in a place where I am still a contender, I’m still fighting against the best players in the world, and still beating the younger guys. This gives me confidence and makes me happy. Dimitrov on leaving it all out there.

Popyrin Prevails Against Medvedev

Despite having lost in his opening match for two straight years, I had Daniil Medvedev making the semi-finals in Paris, given he had not played either of the ATP 500 tournaments last week, and stated his shoulder was fine.

However, he was again dumped at the first hurdle to the big-hitting Canadian Masters 1000 champion, Alexei Popyrin.

Popyrin has had an impressive year on the ATP Tour. He reached the last sixteen by winning 6-4, 2-6, and 7-6(4) and showed on quick hard courts he can be a real menace, even against a fast hard court specialist 😁

Meddy still has an excellent mind for figuring out matches, recovering from 1-4 in the decider, but his game isn’t there this year. He’s 2-10 against the Top 30 players since the Spring—players he typically brushed aside. What does he do to change that stat around?

I’ve heard about the atmosphere here, I hadn’t played in it before. They’re not lying, it’s a crazy atmosphere, the crowd is amazing. Last Masters of the year, I really wanted to do well. I really wanted to go deep, and this is a great step for me Popyrin on his first (and last) appearance in Bercy.

Other Matches of Note

Thompson Topples Ruud: Casper Ruud was defeated by Jordan Thompson 7-6(3), 3-6, 6-4, which impacted his ATP final qualification hopes. Ruud managed to push Thompson to a deciding set, but the Aussie isn’t a great matchup for Ruud on hardcourts, as we saw in Los Cabos earlier this year.

Cercundolo Cracks Rublev: Francisco Cerundolo celebrated his 100th tour-level win by knocking out wildly inconsistent sixth seed Andrey Rublev with a 7-6(6), 7-6(5). The Argentine came from a break down in each set to move through. Off the back of a loss, Rublev took a wildcard into Metz to try and secure his spot at the ATP Finals.

De Minaur Kicks Kecmanovic: The Serb was playing with house money, having entered as a lucky loser, but de Minaur proved too dogged in defence, bagging a 6-4 7-6(5) win, which means he leapfrogs Andrey Rublev into eighth place in the race for Turin.

Draper Downs Fritz: Another big win for the Brit off the back of his Vienna title as he took out Fritz 7-6(6) 4-6 6-4. While it wasn’t the cleanest match for either player, both served pretty well, and there was little to separate them. Fritz has already secured a spot in Turin, so perhaps he has one eye on the finals, and he threw in a pretty poor game when serving to stay in the match as Draper broke to secure victory.

Cazaux Sinks Shelton: Cazaux was the sixth Frenchman to make the last sixteen in Bercy, and he produced a very solid display. He won 90% behind his first serve and 70% behind his second, facing just one break point en route to a 6-3 7-6(4) win.

2024 Paris Masters Round of 16 Matches

Are you enjoying the tennis on offer in Paris? The courts look to be playing quick.