The round of 32 at the 2023 Rolex Masters is complete and provided mixed results for the three best players of the season.
The men to falter were Carlos Alcaraz and Daniil Medvedev. The former is back after a brief injury hiatus and didn’t look sharp enough as the impressive Roman Safiullin dispatched him in straight sets.
Grigor Dimitrov avenged his loss to Daniil Medvedev in Vienna last week with a robust performance over three lengthy sets to prevail 6-3, 6-7(4), 7-6(2).
Novak Djokovic, on the other hand, who too has been away from the competitive tennis scene since the US Open, had no such problem, hitting the ground running with a high-quality performance against Tomas Martin Etcheverry.
The final evening session of the last thirty-two didn’t get underway until 10.30 p.m. after Sascha Zverev outlasted Ugo Humbert in a 3-hour, 29-minute marathon to secure his spot at the ATP Finals.
Yet more ridiculous scheduling on tour, which meant that Jannik Sinner didn’t complete his victory over Mackie McDonald until 2.37 a.m. after Rune and Thiem had played until midnight.
You can see the results below.
Round of 32 Rolex Paris Masters Results
Winner
Loser
Scoreline
Novak Djokovic (1)
Tomas Martin Etcheverry
6-3 6-2
Roman Safiullin
Carlos Alcaraz (2)
6-3 6-4
Grigor Dimitrov
Daniil Medvedev (3)
6-3 6-7(4) 7-6(2)
Jannik Sinner (4)
Mackenzie McDonald
6-7(6) 7-5 6-1
Andrey Rublev (5)
Yoshihito Nishioka (Q)
6-4 6-3
Holger Rune (6)
Dominic Thiem (Q)
6-4 6-2
Stefanos Tsitsipas (7)
Felix Auger-Aliassime
6-3 7-6(4)
Francisco Cerundolo
Casper Ruud (8)
7-5 6-4
Daniel Altmaier
Taylor Fritz (9)
(W/O)
Alexander Zverev (10)
Ugo Humbert
6-4 6-7(3) 7-6(5)
Hubert Hurkacz (11)
Roberto Bautista Agut
6-3 6-2
Botic van de Zandschulp
Tommy Paul (12)
6-4 2-6 6-3
Alex de Minaur (13)
Dusan Lajovic (LL)
4-6 6-4 6-4
Karen Khachanov (16)
Laslo Djere
6-4 7-5
Alexander Bublik
Nicolas Jarry
7-6(3) 7-6(3)
Tallon Griekspoor
Alejandro Davidovich Fokina
6-2 6-2
Safiullin Sinks Alcaraz
Having made the final in Beijing, Roman Safiullin has proved himself to be a handful for all comers in recent weeks.
Yet few expected him to hand Carlos Alcaraz his first opening-round loss of 2023, but that’s precisely what he delivered, coming from a break down in both sets to record a 6-3, 6-4 victory.
The Spaniard, who is chasing the year-end number one spot, has been dealing with a couple of injuries in recent weeks that kept him out of the Swiss Indoors and despite starting both sets brightly, he wasn’t solid enough in the face of Safiullin’s workman-like approach, committing 27 unforced errors during the match.
Since qualies, I was not playing at this level, but against Carlos and these Top 10, Top 20 guys, you have to lift up the level. I managed to do it. For Carlos, it was not his best performance, but still, I’m happy that I can win… Even if he’s not in the best shape, it’s tough to beat him. So I’m really happy that I made it. Safiullin on his impressive win.
Dimitrov Denies Medvedev
After his opening-round victory against Musetti, I mentioned that Dimitrov had been enjoying somewhat of a career revival in recent weeks, and that continued as he took out Daniil Medvedev 6-3, 6-7(4), 7-6(2) in 2 hours and 54 minutes.
The Bulgarian was the better player throughout, leading 5-2, but he let slip four match points on his serve at 5-4 and then another two on return at 6-5. However, he regrouped for the tiebreak and finally converted on his 7th opportunity to move into the third round.
Whether he’ll have enough in the tank to go further remains a question, as he’s got strapping on his left thigh and has now played two lengthy three-set matches.
At 5-4 and 40/15, I just didn’t go enough for my shots. That’s it, and against a player like him, he’s going to take it, simple as that. I could have done a few things differently. Obviously, it’s very different when you see it from the outside now, but I’m going to watch a little bit for sure. I want to see what I could have done a little bit better since I was playing a good game and to get up to 5-4, 40/15, I thought I played an excellent game with very good shot selection. It slipped there, but a good outcome in the end. Dimitrov on his win over Medvedev.
Djokovic Makes Impressive Start
Novak Djokovic showed no signs of rust after his 6-week break from competitive tennis, comprehensively dispatching Tomas Martin Etcheverry 6-3, 6-2 to reach the third round at the Rolex Paris Masters.
Djokovic is closing in on another year-end number-one finish and played like he’d never been away. I remember two years ago at the Laver Cup when he faced Tiafoe, having not played any of the US Open Series. Yet, his control from the baseline was ridiculous from the word go, and it was the same today with just nine unforced errors.
Other Matches of Note
Rublev Rallies Past Nishioka: The speedy Japanese can be a tricky opponent, but Rublev broke decisively in each set to progress.
Van de Zandschulp Powers Past Paul: A 6-4, 2-6, 6-3 win for the Dutch qualifier who ends Paul’s chances of Turin qualification.
Tsitsipas Takes Down Auger-Aliassime: One of the Greek’s best wins in a while, and he saved six of seven break points in the one-hour, 48-minute 6-3, 7-6(4) victory.
Sinner Digs Deep: The Italian had to come from a set down to see off McDonald 6-7(6), 7-5, 6-1, and he’ll need to recover quickly as he’s back on the court in less than 15 hours.
Paris Masters Round of 16 Matches
Novak Djokovic (1) vs Tallon Griekspoor
Daniel Altamaier vs Holger Rune (6)
Janniker Sinner (4) vs Alex de Minaur (13)
Botic van de Zandschulp (Q) vs Andrey Rublev (5)
Francisco Cerundolo vs Hubert Hurkacz (11)
Alexander Bublik vs Grigor Dimitrov
Stefanos Tsitsipas (7) vs Alexander Zverev (9)
Karen Khachanov (16) vs Roman Safiullin (Q)
What do you make of the Paris Masters so far? Do you think the scheduling needs improving? Let me know in the comments.