NEWS

The Paris Masters is here in 2021! Luckily, the pandemic didn’t take this tournament from us last year, so we do have a defending champion for 2020 in Daniil Medvedev! However, Djokovic will be competing for the first time since the historic US Open Final this year, and with other notable contenders such as Alexander Zverev, Aslan Karatsev and Marin Cilic, the outcome is not clear. With that aside, here are my predictions for the winners and losers of the Rolex Paris Masters 2021!

Possible outcome of Wimbledon 2021? Look out for Kyrgios, Cilic and Berrettini!

After facing Novak Djokovic early in Monte Carlo, Sinner will have another chance to battle one of the “Big Three” on clay in the Round of 32. This time, he will face Rafael Nadal on the Roman clay. Sinner has only played in this tournament once before, while Nadal will be vying for a tenth title here. The pair has played once before at the 2020 French open, where Nadal snuffed out an early challenge from the young Italian to win in straight sets. A lot of fans are wondering whether Nadal will have as easy of a time with the youngster seven months later...

Two giants have reached the final in Madrid, but their routes to the final are as different as possible. The Italian faced compatriot Fabio Fognini in the first round and Argentinian Delbonis in the second, beating both in straight sets. His first seeded opponent was Cristian Garin, who gave him a tough time in the first set and the beginning of the second before Berrettini reeled off 11 games in the row to reduce the contest to a one-sided affair. Berrettini then met Ruud in the semis, a tough youngster on his career high who beat Tsitsipas earlier in the tournament. Berrettini’s red-hot serve + forehand carried him through to a comfortable win, where he faced no break points. 

On paper, Zverev’s draw was a lot more difficult. His first opponent was veteran Kei Nishikori, who took a 6-2 set off of Nadal in Barcelona. However, he demolished the Japanese and set the tone for the rest of the tournament from there. He recorded another straight sets win against the gritty Dan Evans to set a match with the God of Clay, Rafael Nadal. The German snatched back 2 breaks and the lead from the Spaniard in the first set, and Nadal had no answers to Zverev’s game after that point. Zverev then faced down Dominic Thiem in what proved to be arguably his most complete performance of the match, which concluded in another straight sets victory.

With two gargantuans playing at the top of their level, this match will likely come down to who can stick to their patterns the longest, and who’s mental game is the strongest.

This will be a mouthwatering clash between two youngsters on the backs of unpredictable upsets. Casper Ruud took out the number 4 seed and Monte Carlo Champion Stefanos Tsitsipas in straight sets with an incredible display of consistent baseline tennis. He showed his mental by seizing the only break point between the Greek and himself to take what would be a deciding second set. Bublik took out the unseeded but equally dangerous Aslan Karatsev with acute variety and his own devastating backhand. The winner of this match will be the one who can capitalize the most on their strengths.

This is a meeting between two players who haven’t fought at the top level in nearly four years, mainly due to Nishikori’s injury-related issues. With that being said, Nishikori has been improving his game in recent weeks, with a strong pair of victories in Barcelona before falling to the eventual winner Rafael Nadal. The same can’t be said for Zverev, who hasn’t made it past the second round in three tournaments. However, Zverev’s strong groundstrokes combined with Nishikori’s high-risk high-reward style of play will surely result in an epic contest to watch.

The top seeds are tumbling in this tournament! Cam Norrie will be facing his second straight seeded player in Marin Cilic after a grueling comeback against Cristian Garin. Cilic has had his own fair share of topsy-turvy matches this week, beating young upstarts Carlos Alcaraz and Nuno Borges in two tough three-setters. Thus, these two competitors are roughly equal in terms of time spent on court, and while neither player comfortably can call the clay their home, both have shown their viability on the surface nonetheless.

We’ll be seeing a red-hot player taking on a veteran warrior tomorrow in Munich. Ruud is on the back of a semifinal run in Monte Carlo, and will be looking for another deep run here as the second seed. While Millman’s results on clay and in general have been less than special this year, he is a fighter that can grind out points and take advantage of any weaknesses in his opponents mentality. This match will be one of the first matches in this tournament with two seeded players facing off, but the result might be more lackluster than some would expect.

A match between two lefties, if not a rarity, is always a feast to watch. Shapovalov’s explosive game is as entertaining as it is effective, and Corentin Moutet’s tactical skills are sure to give both players a chance to show the best of their respective games. Shapovalov is the first seed at Estoril, and he is playing his first match of the tournament tomorrow. On the other hand, Moutet was forced to grind through a tight three-setter against American Marcos Giron yesterday, so he will have some experience (and perhaps a bit of fatigue) to carry into this match.

If you are blaming your tennis racquet every time you shank a ball wide or stuff one in the net, the problem is probably your technique. But if you’ve been unable to keep the gas on for long matches because your arm gets tired, or the ball is not leaving your racquet with as much power as you put in, trying a new tennis racquet is a good option. Make sure not to buy a tennis racquet without trying it first; there are many tennis shops that offer demo trials, sometimes even for free! With that said, let’s dive into the top choices based on your skill level.

Not many tennis fans would have expected this first-round match to turn into the dramatic blockbuster it was, and even fewer would expect Anderson to come out on top. But the world number 105 recovered from a break down in the second set - and then a match point in the second set tiebreaker - to force a deciding set.

The final of Qatar is upon us between an unlikely pair, with Roberto Bautista Agut showing us why you should never underestimate him and Nikoloz Basilashvili continuing his run after beating Federer from match point down. This will be a grinding baseline affair and will be full of intense rallies and amazing shotmaking. It's not the final we expected but it'll be a finale filled with fireworks.