Djokovic Closes In On No. 1 At Paris Masters; Zverev v Medvedev In Final Rematch

by Staff | November 5th, 2021, 8:33 pm
  • 7 Comments

The field at the ATP Final is set as Hubert Hurkacz became the 8th and last entrant into the prestigious event after edging James Duckworth 6-2, 6-7(4), 7-5.

The 24-year-old is the first Polish player to qualify for the final eight.

“It feels incredible. Obviously going to Turin is a dream,” Hurkacz said. “Growing up as a kid, seeing all those top guys playing in the Finals, it’s inspiring. Now being among them, it’s very special because it’s just eight spots there, so it’s not that easy to get there.”


Hurkacz still has a prize to contend for this week. The Miami champion is two wins from another Masters but will meet world No. 1 Novak Djokovic tomorrow.

The Serb closed in on wrapping up the year-end top spot with a 6-4, 6-3 win over Taylor Fritz. But it wasn’t a great day on the court.

“I am pleased with the way I played against Fucsovics and today I did have ups and downs. I am not really pleased with the way I closed out the sets. I lost my serve to love , then 5-3, again, I served for it with new balls and lost to love again. Those kind of things shouldn’t happen, I know that. I backed myself up with good returns and read Taylor’s serve very well to get into rallies. I closed out the last couple of service games well and that’s a positive.”

Daniil Medvedev continued to pressure Djokovic in the No. 1 race. The Paris defending champion came from a break down in the first to defeat French qualifier 7-6(7), 6-4. Gaston, who will be part of the NextGen event next week, served for the first at 5-4 but failed to close.

“You need to try to win no matter what. Even when it is against me, I think, ‘Well, I will try to beat my opponent and the crowd’ because there is no other choice. I am kind of happy about myself, but it was definitely a high-level match,” Medvedev said.

Up next for the Russian is a huge showdown with Alexander Zverev. The German eased past Casper Ruud 7-5, 6-4. He’s now won 28 of his last 30 matches.

“I thought he served extremely well today which made it very difficult to break,” Zverev said. “I’m happy with the win and to be in the semifinals.”

Zverev leads Medvedev 5-4 but the Russian has won the last three with wins at the ATP Cup and last year at the ATP finals and the final in Paris last year.


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7 Comments for Djokovic Closes In On No. 1 At Paris Masters; Zverev v Medvedev In Final Rematch

Van Persie Says:

So, Nole ends the season as Nr. 1 for the 7th time. Am glad, he did not give up🙂


Van Persie Says:

Nole’s records as Nr. 1 will survive for a loooong time!


chrisford1 Says:

He’s been #1 since Feb 2 2020. Another dominant run. And they didn’t count 22 weeks when he was #1 into his weekly tally when rankings were frozen, otherwise he’d have 367 weeks as #1. A full year more than Roger.
And he still may get there before Daniil Medvedev, now my 2nd favorite player, gets his well deserved #1 spot. Or comes back and takes a few weeks back as #1 here and there as Roger did.
Very proud of Novak and how he did it. And core to that was Djokovic learning how to have the heart, the mental strength, and warrior spirit Rafa has on court – ten years back. And actually, becoming as good or better than Rafa at it.
Thanks Rafa, for the inspiration. Novak is right to credit Nadal and Fed with making him a better player.


Giles Says:

It’s so easy when one has little or no competition, isn’t it?
Cif. Still FOS!


chrisford1 Says:

That’s OK, Giles. It looks like Daniil is zoning again. He destroyed Sasha, and I make him the favorite again over Novak. And if he beats Novak tomorrow, the favorite at the ATP Championships as well.
You can be happy about that, if you are capable of being happy about anything.
We are very close to the changing of the guard. Another year, perhaps.
But 2-3 more years of Rafa and Novak winning stuff if they stay in. Also funny about Novak liking to play doubles more and talking offhand on how some doubles players pushing or exceeding 40 can tour and win.


Dave Says:

I’m going to say this straight up. And everyone knows on here that I’m not a hater. But straight up, I won’t be surprised if Medvedev isn’t even in the top 4 at some point next year. If Federer is the most Finesse player of all time, Medvedev is the least of any top player I’ve ever seen. I like his character more than Zverev or Tsitsipas. But the way he plays, which is really irrelevant at the end of the day is very boring and predictable. I’m still shocked how many fall into his totally predictable trap. Hit the ball safely into each corner with not a lot of pace and wait for the other guy to get impatient and frustrated and go for too much to try and end the point. Medvedev wants to win a tennis match plain and simple. His game takes the lowest shot by shot skill level I’ve ever seen by a top player. But he wins over and over doing the same thing. He doesn’t dictate play from the back of the court. 10 winners the whole match if you take away his 4 aces. He can’t volley very well or hit the drop shot well. But his fast movement and long reach get so many balls back. Great server and returner as well. Again, standing at the back of the wall and returning first serves takes a lot less skill than standing by the baseline. This is my opinion on Medvedev. Not to offend anyone on here. If the other guy is more tired going into the match, example Zverev today and Djokovic at the US Open, they aren’t going to completely commit to grinding it out from the baseline all match long against Medvedev. When Djokovic does, he wins. When he doesn’t Medvedev beats him every time. And usually it’s fairly straightforward as well. Zverev still has a better chance of getting to number 1 first. Take a look at all of the points Medvedev is defending from now to the clay season. Zverev is still a changed player. Today’s loss won’t change that.


Wog Boy Says:

Dave, your analysis are pretty much spot on, about his reach too, which saves him awful lot of energy for not having to run from corner to corner like the guys with much shorter wing span.

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