The final day of round-robin play is on Saturday in Fort Worth. In this group, Iga Swiatek has already secured her spot in the semifinals, and Coco Gauff has been eliminated. So the winner of the match between Caroline Garcia and Daria Kasatkina will become the fourth and final semifinalist at the WTA Finals.
In Paris, it’s semifinal Saturday, featuring four of the best players of the fall indoor hard court season: Novak Djokovic (13-0), Stefanos Tsitsipas (11-3), Felix Auger-Aliassime (16-1), and Holger Rune (17-2).
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. Saturday’s play in Paris begins at 11:30am local time, while play in Fort Worth begins at 1:30pm local time.
Novak Djokovic (6) vs. Stefanos Tsitsipas (5) – Not Before 4:30pm on Court Central in Paris
This is a blockbuster semifinal between two top players who are yet to a drop a set this week, and who share a dynamic history. They played epic five-setters in back-to-back years at Roland Garros. In the 2020 semifinals, Tsitsipas came back from two-sets-down to force a fifth, before Djokovic prevailed in five. Last year in the championship match, Djokovic came back from two-sets-down to prevail in five. Overall Novak is 8-2 against Stefanos, and has taken their last seven encounters. But on hard courts, he only owns a 3-2 edge. They played just a few weeks ago on an indoor hard court in Astana, where Djokovic was victorious in straight sets. As Christopher Clarey highlighted on Twitter, Novak is 29-2 since leaving Madrid six months ago. Based on his current 12-mach win streak, and his 13-match win streak at this event, Djokovic is a considerable favorite on Saturday.
Caroline Garcia (6) vs. Daria Kasatkina (8) – Not Before 3:30pm in Fort Worth
Both players are 1-1 this week, having lost to Swiatek in straight sets, but defeating Gauff in straight sets. They have split two previous meetings, both on hard courts. Three years ago in Wuhan, Garcia prevailed in straights. Last year in San Jose, Kasatkina prevailed 6-3 in the third. Both players had excellent summers. Garcia won three titles on three different surfaces, and reached her first Major semifinal in New York. Kasatkina claimed titles in San Jose and Granby, shortly after achieving her first Major semi in Paris. In a match that could easily go either way, I give Caroline the slight edge. Her aggressive return position will put pressure on the Kasatkina serve, and Garcia’s previous experience at this event should be helpful. In her only prior appearance five years ago, Caroline reached the semifinals, a feat she looks to repeat on Saturday.
Other Notable Matches on Saturday:
Holger Rune vs. Felix Auger-Aliassime (8) – Auger-Aliassime is currently on a 16-match win streak, claiming three straight titles, and is currently playing the best tennis of his career. But so is Rune, who is also vying to reach his fourth final in as many tournaments. They just met in the final of Basel last week, where obviously Felix became the champion.
Iga Swiatek (1) vs. Coco Gauff (4) – This dead rubber has no advancement implications, but will see Swiatek attempt to remain undefeated this week, while Gauff tries to earn her first WTA Finals win. This is a rematch from this year’s Roland Garros final, which Iga easily won 6-1, 6-3. Overall she is 4-0 against Coco, having never dropped a set.
Saturday’s full Order of Play at the WTA Finals is here, and the Paris Masters schedule is here.
