Novak Djokovic will continue his charge towards world number one in Paris this week as he looks to overtake Rafael Nadal at the ATP rankings.
The Serb is the second seed for the last masters 1000 event of the season as he looks to overtake Rafael Nadal as world number one. The Serb will need to reach a round further than Nadal in order to reach the top of the ATP rankings.
The Wimbledon champion appears in the bottom quarter of the draw and will face either Marco Cecchinato or a qualifier in his first match. A potential third round clash with in-form Stefanos Tsitsipas could await Djokovic, in what could be his biggest roadblock in a potential semi-final with Roger Federer.
In the other section of his quarter sees fifth seed, Marin Cilic who will look to confirm his London spot with a second round win. He will either play Philipp Kohlschreiber or a qualifier in his first match.
9th seed Grigor Dimitrov is the projected last 16 opponent for the Croatian as the Bulgarian looks to end a terrible season in style. The reigning ATP Finals champion will play Roberto Bautista Agut or Steve Johnson in the first match in Paris.
As Djokovic’s quarter looks relatively simple on form, his challenger for the world number one spot, Rafael Nadal, face a similar path to the semi-finals.
The Spaniard returns to the court for the first time since the US Open and will open up against either Fernando Verdasco or Jeremy Chardy. His third round opponent could be defending champion Jack Sock who could fall out of the top 100 with a poor result. The American faces Richard Gasquet or Denis Shapovalov.
In Nadal’s quarter is sixth seed Dominic Thiem, who needs a good result in Paris next week to qualify for the ATP World Tour Finals. The Austrian won’t be a crowd favourite in his first match though as he will meet an in-form Gille Simon or Lucas Pouille.
Other Key Stories:
- Roger Federer will play either Jo-Wilfred Tsonga or Milos Raonic in his first match and could be a roadblock for Kei Nishikori in his chances for qualifying for London.
- Alexander Zverev looks for another deep run as he faces Frances Tiafoe or a qualifier in his first match.
- Last year’s finalist Filip Krajinovic faces Karen Khachanov in his first match with the winner facing Kyle Edmund.
- John Isner will look to make one final push for London as he faces either Mikhail Kukushkin or Pierre-Hughes Herbert in his first match:
Here is the full draw, with play starting on Sunday:
Le tableau de ce #RolexParisMasters !
Here is the draw ! pic.twitter.com/f8rUnFnjlg— ROLEX PARIS MASTERS (@RolexPMasters) October 26, 2018
