World No.1 Aryna Sabalenka headlines on Tuesday in Cancun, while World No.2 Carlos Alcaraz headlines in Paris.
After winning their opening round-robin matches in straight sets, Aryna Sabalenka and Jessica Pegula both have the chance to secure their spot in the semifinals with a victory on Tuesday. By contrast, Elena Rybakina and Maria Sakkari vie to keep their advancement hopes alive.
In Paris, Carlos Alcaraz returns from a short injury layoff to play his first match in three weeks, as he tries to catch Novak Djokovic in the race for the year-end No.1 ranking. Plus, Sascha Zverev and Hubert Hurkacz look to earn crucial victories on Tuesday as they try to move into qualifying position for the ATP Finals.
Each day, this preview will analyze the most intriguing matchup from both the WTA Finals and the ATP Paris Masters. Tuesday’s play in Paris begins at 11:00am local time in Paris, and at 2:30pm local time in Cancun.
Sebastian Korda vs. Hubert Hurkacz (11) – Second on Court 1 in Paris
Hurkacz is now 42-21 this season, with two titles. One of those is his second Masters 1000 title, which he collected just a few weeks ago in Shanghai. That run included a semifinal victory over Korda, by a score of 6-3, 6-4. Hubi is now 10-2 this fall on hard courts, as he makes a late-season surge and tries to secure his second appearance at the ATP Finals. After reaching the final of Basel last week, he now sits in ninth place in the Race to Turin, 215 points out of the eighth and final qualifying spot. This week, Hurkacz will need to reach the semifinals or better in order to move up.
Korda is just 25-16 in 2023, as he missed much of the year due to a wrist injury. But like Hurkacz, he’s played well this fall, with the aforementioned semifinal appearance in Shanghai, and a runner-up result in Astana. Sebastian’s current rank of No.23 in the world is a new career high, which he could improve on with a good run this week.
Overall Hurkacz leads their head-to-head 2-1, with all three matches taking place on hard courts. But their biggest meeting to date went to Korda, who prevailed in a final-set tiebreak this past January in the fourth round of the Australian Open. With the pressure of ATP Finals qualification looming, and having just played an ATP final 48 hours prior, it will be challenging for Hurkacz to play his best tennis. I give Korda the slight edge on Tuesday to even their head-to-head.
Aryna Sabalenka (1) vs. Jessica Pegula (5) – Not Before 3:45pm in Cancun
Despite being extremely vocal regarding the quality of the court in Cancun, Sabalenka simply dominated Maria Sakkari on Sunday, by a score of 6-0, 6-1. And with Swiatek also winning her opening match, Aryna remains 630 points ahead of Iga in the race for the year-end No.1 ranking. Meanwhile, in Pegula’s opening round, she earned her first WTA Finals victory, after going 0-3 last year in both singles and doubles.
One of those losses a year ago came against Sabalenka, when Aryna was victorious 6-3, 7-5. Overall Sabalenka is 4-1 against Pegula, though her other three victories came on clay.
Sabalenka appeared unphased on Sunday by the pressure of holding onto the No.1 ranking to close out the year. She’s been the best hard court player of 2023, and is a considerable favorite to notch another win over Pegula on Tuesday, and to advance to the semifinals.
Other Notable Matches on Tuesday:
Marton Fucsovics (Q) vs. Sascha Zverev (10) – Zverev has nearly clinched a spot in the ATP Finals, as he’s currently in seventh place, and over 400 points ahead of Hurkacz. Sascha has never before played Fucsovics, who is just 2-2 lifetime in Bercy.
Roman Safiullin (Q) vs. Carlos Alcaraz (2) – Alcaraz is now 63-9 on the year, yet trails Djokovic by 500 points in the year-to-date rankings. This is his first meeting with Safiullin, who reached a hard court final just last month in Chengdu.
Elena Rybakina (4) vs. Maria Sakkari (8) – These players have split two prior encounters. Rybakina prevailed in three sets three years ago in St. Petersburg, while Sakkari prevailed in straights earlier this season at Indian Wells.
Tuesday’s full Order of Play for the WTA Finals is here, and for the ATP Paris Masters is here.
