Djokovic, Swiatek, Gauff, Medvedev, and many other of the best players in the world are in action on Wednesday.
Iga Swiatek and Coco Gauff both won their first round-robin matches in straight sets, so either can guarantee their spot in the semifinals on Wednesday in Cancun. By contrast, Ons Jabeur and Marketa Vondrousova will square off to keep their advancement hopes alive, in a rematch from this year’s championship match at Wimbledon.
In Paris, almost all second round matches are to be completed on Wednesday. That includes the 2023 Bercy singles debut of Novak Djokovic, a six-time champion at this event. Plus, players such as Stefanos Tsitsipas, Sascha Zverev, Holger Rune, Hubert Hurkacz, and Casper Ruud vie for critical victories as they try to qualify for the ATP Finals.
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. Wednesday’s play begins at 11:00am local time in Paris, and at 2:30pm local time in Cancun.
Stefanos Tsitsipas (7) vs. Felix Auger-Aliassime – Second on Court Central in Paris
While not yet officially qualified for his fifth consecutive appearance at the ATP Finals, Tsitsipas currently sits in sixth place in the year-end race, and it’s extremely unlikely three players would earn enough points to move above him. Stefanos is now 46-21 on the year, with only one title (Los Cabos).
Auger-Aliassime has endured a rough year, filled with injury, illness, and a loss of confidence. He’s just 22-18, and could drop out of the top 30 with a loss on Wednesday. But Felix seems to be rediscovering his mojo, as just last week in Basel, he won his first title of the year, with impressive victories over Rune and Hurkacz.
Tsitsipas leads their head-to-head 5-3, though their most recent meeting went to the Canadian. That was in last year’s Rotterdam final, when FAA earned his first-ever ATP title. When they meet again on an indoor hard court, Stefanos is a slight favorite to advance.
Iga Swiatek (2) vs. Coco Gauff (3) – Not Before 5:00pm in Cancun
Until this past summer, Swiatek had completely dominated this young rivalry. Between May of 2021 and May of 2023, Iga claimed all seven of their matches in straight sets, which includes the championship match at Roland Garros in 2022. But this past August, after making significant changes to her coaching team, a reinvigorated Coco finally not only took a set against Iga in Cincinnati, but defeated her in three sets.
Yett as revealed by Chanda Rubin and Lindsay Davenport on Tennis Channel this week, one of those coaching changes did not stick. Brad Gilbert is still in Gauff’s camp, but Pere Riba is not. After her victory on Monday, Coco confirmed Riba’s exit, and stated it was not her call. However, his absence appeared to have no impact on her performance, as Gauff dominated Ons Jabeur by a score of 6-0, 6-1.
On the same day, Swiatek struggled during the opening set against Marketa Vondrousova, yet still won in straights, running away with the second set 6-0. And a few weeks ago, Iga avenged her Cincinnati loss to Coco, defeating her comfortably in the Beijing semifinals. With an 8-1 advantage in their rivalry, Swiatek must be favored to make it 9-1 on Wednesday.
Other Notable Matches on Wednesday:
Grigor Dimitrov vs. Daniil Medvedev (3) – This is a rematch from just a week ago in Vienna, where Medvedev was victorious 6-4 in the third. Overall Daniil is 6-2 against Grigor, and has taken their last three matches.
Novak Djokovic (1) vs. Tomas Martin Etcheverry – Djokovic is 46-5 on the year, and has not lost a match since the Wimbledon final, though he’s only played two tournaments since. Etcheverry has accumulated 35 match wins this season, but 25 of those came on clay. Six months ago in Rome on clay, Novak beat Tomas in straight sets.
Dominic Thiem (Q) vs. Holger Rune (6) – Thiem came back from 5-3 in the third against Stan Wawrinka late on Monday night, even saving a match point. Rune recently named Boris Becker as his new coach, and was the surprise champion of this tournament a year ago, when he upset Djokovic in the final. Earlier this year on Monte Carlo, Holger defeated Dominic 6-2, 6-4.
Ons Jabeur (6) vs. Marketa Vondrousova (7) – Jabeur was emotionally shattered by her loss in the Wimbledon final at the hands of Vondrousova, a third Major final loss for Ons within the past two years. Overall Marketa leads their head-to-head 3-2, and has claimed all three of the 2023 meetings, though the first two came early this season when Ons was battling injury.
Wednesday’s full Order of Play for the WTA Finals is here, and for the ATP Paris Masters is here.
