On Monday, Novak Djokovic played his first match since perhaps the biggest disappointment of his career: coming one match short of completing the Grand Slam. He made a victorious return in doubles, and will play his opening round singles match on Tuesday against Hungary’s Marton Fucsovics, in a rematch from this year’s Wimbledon quarterfinals. A good result for Novak in singles this week could clinch the year-end No.1 ranking for a record-breaking seventh time, surpassing his idol, Pete Sampras.
Each day, this preview will analyze the most intriguing matchup, while highlighting other notable matches on the schedule. Tuesday’s play gets underway at 11:00am local time.
Novak Djokovic (1) vs. Marton Fucsovics – Not Before 7:30pm on Court Central
At Wimbledon, Djokovic prevailed in straight sets. While their other two previous encounters were tighter, with Fucsovics securing a set in each, they both went to Novak in the end. 29-year-old Marton is having one of the best seasons of his career, highlighted by his Major quarterfinal debut at The Championships. On Monday, he required nearly three hours to put away Fabio Fognini, eventually prevailing in a third set tiebreak. Despite Novak’s lack of play the last two months, he’ll be the far fresher player, and remains a solid favorite to overcome Marton. However, it will be interesting to see his current form after a considerable layoff, and his emotional state following such a huge letdown in New York. Djokovic has not been prioritizing events outside the Majors this year, after bettering Roger Federer’s number of weeks at No.1 back in March. This is only his third Masters 1000 event of the season, and this could be only the second year since 2011 in which he fails to win a tournament at this level. With the pressure of the Grand Slam behind him, I expect Novak to be quite relaxed, and motivated to defend his title in Paris.
Other Notable Matches on Tuesday:
Grigor Dimitrov (16) vs. Richard Gasquet (WC) – Gasquest won the first five meetings between these two one-handed backhands, though Dimitrov has claimed the last three, all three of which were decided in straight sets. Grigor was a semifinalist in two of his last three tournaments, including the most recent 1000-level event in Indian Wells.
Casper Ruud (6) vs. Alexander Bublik – Ruud is in position to make his ATP Finals debut, though a poor result this week would put that feat at risk. Bublik won over the French crowd on Monday with his entertaining style, in a three-set victory over Dan Evans. Ruud is 2-0 against Bublik, which includes a straight-set win earlier this year in Madrid, as well as a hard court victory in 2019.
Tuesday’s full Order of Play is here.
