In a rematch from one of this fall’s most compelling matches, a three-time Major champion takes on the British No.1.
Of all the Masters 1,000 tournaments, this has been the least predictable. Scheduled at the end of the season, and shortly before the ATP Finals, top players are usually not at their physical or motivational peak. While Novak Djokovic has won this event five times, Roger Federer has only done so once. And Rafael Nadal hasn’t even reached a final here since 2007.
But Nadal is the top seed this year, and the only member of “The Big 3” present, so this is a great chance to nab his first Paris Indoors title. The only former champion in this year’s draw was Karen Khachanov, and he was ousted yesterday by Alejandro Davidovich Fokina. Who will take advantage of the most wide-open Masters 1,000 draw in recent memory?
Stan Wawrinka (12) vs. Dan Evans
Three weeks ago in St. Petersburg, these two provided a high-quality, dramatic clash. Evans was up a set and had three match points on Wawrinka’s serve at 5-6 in the second, but could not convert. Stan would claim the second set tiebreak, and go on to prevail 7-5 in a tightly-contested third set. And that wasn’t the first time Wawrinka saved a match point en route to a victory over Evans. Stan also did so in the third round of the 2016 US Open, in a four-hour five-setter. Wawrinka has never lost to Evans despite these close calls, leading their head-to-head 4-0. But the 30-year-old Brit is the player arriving with more momentum, coming off back-to-back semifinal runs on indoor hard courts in Antwerp and Vienna. Meanwhile, Wawrinka has gone just 2-2 since his shocking five-set loss to French wild card Hugo Gaston at Roland Garros. But defeating a player you’ve never beaten before, especially with the scar tissue of squandered match points, is a tall task. That makes Wawrinka the favorite to advance today.
Other Notable Matches on Tuesday:
2019 ATP Finals champion Stefanos Tsitsipas (2) vs. Ugo Humbert, a 22-year-old Frenchman who outlasted Casper Ruud yesterday in a third set tiebreak.
Taylor Fritz vs. Richard Gasquet. The 34-year-old Frenchman has reached the quarterfinals or better here three times, though not since 2015. Neither man arrives with much form, having lost four of their last five matches.
Marin Cilic vs Corentin Moutet (WC). Cilic prevailed in a three-setter yesterday against Felix Auger-Aliassime, while the French wild card did the same against Salvatore Caruso.
Full order of play is here.
