WTA Finals & ATP Paris Masters Daily Preview: Big Tournaments Start Monday on Two Different Continents - UBITENNIS

WTA Finals & ATP Paris Masters Daily Preview: Big Tournaments Start Monday on Two Different Continents

By Matthew Marolf
5 Min Read

The 2022 WTA Finals begin on Monday, featuring the top eight singles players and doubles teams of the season.  And for the first time in 17 years, the tournament returns to the United States, in Fort Worth, Texas.  World No.1 Iga Swiatek headlines the field following a spectacular season, during which she has accumulated more than the double the points of all other competitors.  Round robin play will be staged for the first six days of the tournament.

Concurrently, the last ATP Masters 1000 event of the year takes place in Paris.  The draw features 16 of the top 17 men in the world, including World No.1 Carlos Alcaraz, a returning Rafael Nadal, and defending champion Novak Djokovic.  And the final two spots in the ATP Finals will be decided this week.  Felix Auger-Aliassime and Andrey Rublev are currently in qualifying position, with Hubert Hurkacz and Taylor Fritz needing deep runs in Paris to qualify for Turin.

Each day, this preview will analyze the most intriguing matchup from both the WTA Finals and the ATP Paris Masters, while highlighting the other matches on the schedules.  Monday’s play in Paris begins at 11:00am local time, while play in Fort Worth begins at 3:00pm local time.


Taylor Fritz (9) vs. Alejandro Davidovich Fokina – Second on Court Central in Paris

Fritz will need to reach the final to have any chance of qualifying for the ATP Finals.  He was the champion a few weeks ago in Tokyo, where he defeated Denis Shapovalov and Frances Tiafoe.  But just a few days ago in Vienna, Shapovalov avenged that loss in a three-setter.  Davidovich Fokina was the runner-up this year in Monte Carlo, where he defeated Fritz.  He also reached the second week of the US Open.  However, he arrives in Paris on a four-match losing streak.  Overall Alejandro is 2-0 against Taylor, with his other victory coming three years ago in Estoril.  But both of those wins came on clay, and Fritz is a considerable favorite on an indoor hard court to earn his first victory over Davidovich Fokina.


Ons Jabeur (2) vs. Aryna Sabalenka (7) – Not Before 7:00pm local time in Fort Worth

Jabeur is 46-15 on the year, with two titles and six finals overall.  Two of those finals came at back-to-back Majors (Wimbledon, US Open), her first two finals at Slams.  This is her WTA Finals debut.  Sabalenka is 30-20 this season, and qualified for the second straight year despite some massive double fault woes.  And Aryna has not won a title in nearly two years, dating back to January of 2021.  These players have met three times, and on three different surfaces.  Jabeur prevailed on clay two years ago at Roland Garros, while Sabalenka claimed their matches on both hard and grass in 2021, including in the quarterfinals of Wimbledon to achieve her first Major semifinal.  Ons is only 2-1 since the US Open final, and Sabalenka is just 1-2.  But based on their 2022 form, Jabeur should be considered a slight favorite to win in her WTA Finals debut.


Other Notable Matches on Monday:

Andy Murray vs. Gilles Simon (WC) – This will be the final tournament of Simon’s career, retiring at his home country’s second biggest event.  Gilles only has five wins this season at tour level, compared to 26 for Murray.  Andy leads their head-to-head 16-2, and 9-1 at Masters events, having taken the last nine.

Jessica Pegula (3) vs. Maria Sakkari (5) – Pegula is 42-18 in 2022, and is coming off the biggest title of her career a week ago at the WTA 1000 tournament in Guadalajara.  She defeated Sakkari in that final, but is 2-3 overall against Maria.  The Greek is 37-22 this year, and unlike Jessica, previously qualified for this event, as she was a semifinalist a year ago. 


Monday’s full Order of Play at the WTA Finals is here, and the Paris Masters schedule is here.

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