The draw for the 2024 Paris Masters, the last ATP Masters 1000 tournament of the season, was released, and it was brutal for the reigning World No. 1 player.
The last ATP Masters 1000 tournament of the year is always special. For the highest-ranked players, it means the last chance to add a big trophy to their cabinet before the ATP Finals, while for many players ranked around the Top 10, it means the last chance to qualify for the ATP Finals.
All of that will come into play at this year's Paris Masters, but one of the top two favorites to win, Jannik Sinner, was given a brutal draw on his quest to add another Masters title to his collection.
Novak Djokovic, who he beat in the Shanghai Masters final, won't compete at the tournament despite being the defending champion. Djokovic announced his withdrawal only a few days before the tournament start.
Djokovic is not just the defending champion but also the most successful man in the history of the tournament, having won it seven times. In his absence, there will be only two more former champions, the 2020 winner Daniil Medvedev and the 2022 champion Holger Rune.
It's Rune's part that all eyes will be on, as it's probably the most brutal part of the draw. The top seed at the event, Sinner, has a first-round bye like all Top 8 seeded players. That means he will start already in the second round.
However, that doesn't mean that he will have an easy time in his first match, as the Italian player will have to take on the winner of the match between Ben Shelton and Felix Auger-Aliassime, who thrives in indoor conditions.
The winner of this mini-section could then take on former champion Rune in the third round of the tournament. The young Dane is the 13th seed, and he will start against Matteo Arnaldi from Italy in the first round of the tournament. The winner of this match will then play against either Alexander Bublik or one of the qualifiers in the second round.
On the opposite side of the draw is the second-seeded Carlos Alcaraz, who will be much happier when looking at the draw. His second-round opponent will be the winner of the match between Nicolas Jarry and one of the qualifiers.
However, already in the third round, the young Spaniard could face a proper test as well. His third-round opponent could be the winner of the match between the 15th-seeded Ugo Humbert and Brandon Nakashima, both of which have been in terrific form lately.
Daniil Medvedev is the fourth seed, and it could be said that the draw was similarly merciless to him as it was to the reigning World No. 1, Sinner, and also the other former champion, Rune.
The Russian player will start against either this year's Canadian Open champion, Alexei Popyrin, or former Wimbledon finalist, Matteo Berrettini. If he wins this match, he could face the likes of Karen Khachanov and Frances Tiafoe in the third round.
Like always, the draw for the Paris Masters is stacked and includes many sensational first-round matchups, such as the one between Jack Draper and Jiri Lehecka. The full draw for the tournament with all matchups can be viewed below.
| Player 1 | Player 2 |
|---|---|
| Jannik Sinner [1] | BYE |
| Ben Shelton | Felix Auger-Aliassime |
| Qualifier/SE | Alexander Bublik |
| Matteo Arnaldi | Holger Rune [13] |
| Alex de Minaur [9] | Mariano Navone |
| Sebastian Baez | Qualifier/SE |
| Jack Draper | Jiri Lehecka |
| BYE | Taylor Fritz [5] |
| Alexander Zverev [3] | BYE |
| Luciano Darderi | Tallon Griekspoor |
| Arthur Fils | Marin Cilic |
| Jan-Lennard Struff | Lorenzo Musetti [16] |
| Stefanos Tsitsipas [10] | Qualifier/SE |
| Nuno Borges | Alejandro Tabilo |
| Qualifier/SE | Francisco Cerundolo |
| BYE | Andrey Rublev [6] |
| Grigor Dimitrov [8] | BYE |
| Tomas Martin Etcheverry | Zhizhen Zhang |
| Tomas Machac | Arthur Rinderknech [WC] |
| Alex Michelsen | Hubert Hurkacz [12] |
| Frances Tiafoe [14] | Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard |
| Karen Khachanov | Pablo Carreno Busta |
| Alexei Popyrin | Matteo Berrettini |
| BYE | Daniil Medvedev [4] |
| Casper Ruud [7] | BYE |
| Jordan Thompson | Qualifier/SE |
| Flavio Cobolli | Richard Gasquet [WC] |
| Adrian Mannarino [WC] | Tommy Paul [11] |
| Ugo Humbert [15] | Brandon Nakashima |
| Qualifier/SE | Qualifier/SE |
| Nicolas Jarry | Qualifier/SE |
| BYE | Carlos Alcaraz [2] |