Novak Djokovic won the Paris Masters after a week full of twists and turns. But, as is often the case, it’s “Nole” who wins in the end. Full tournament summary.
Novak Djokovic found his best tennis at the best of times: in the final, against Grigor Dimitrov, the world number 1 showed no flaws to win his 7th title at Bercy (6-4, 6-3). However, he had a difficult week: he won his eighth, his quarter and his semi-final in the third set, in very close matches against Tallon Griekspoor, Holger Rune and Andrey Rublev. But on arrival, it is he who brandishes “The Fanti Tree”, the atypical bronze trophy of the Paris Masters.
The Serb, each time, showed himself to be more solid in the decisive moments of the last set, despite an audience often pushing for his opponent. The “Djoker” played the perfect role of the villain who shatters, as expected, the dreams of exploit of his adversaries, even offering himself the luxury of thrilling the public on occasion. He has made a perfect return to competition, almost two months after his triumph at the US Open, where he regained the throne of world number 1, and one week before the end-of-year Masters which he will approach as favorite . Since his victory at Roland Garros, “Nole” only lost one match, against Carlos Alcaraz in the Wimbledon final. He has won the last three tournaments he has played.
Dimitrov, on the crest of the wave
Grigor Dimitrov is an eternal ghost. As in 2019 when he reached the semi-final of the US Open after falling to 78th place in the world, as often since the start of his career, the Bulgarian returns to the highest level when we expect it. less. By successively eliminating Lorenzo Musetti, Daniil Medvedev, Alexander Bublik, Hubert Hukarcz and Stefanos Tsitsipas, the man once nicknamed “Baby Fed” enjoyed a prestigious career thanks to an impressive level of play.
He reached the final of the Masters 1000 at Paris-Bercy after a very successful Asian tour: semi-final in Chengdu, quarter-final in Beijing and semi-final at the Masters 1000 in Shanghai. But by falling to Djokovic, he once again failed to win a tournament, something he has not achieved since his triumph at the end of year Masters in 2017, when he was 3rd in the world. He nevertheless returns to the top 15 of the ATP rankings for the first time since 2018, and will have to ride this very good end of the season. In 2024, it will be time to finally find stability, at 32, to stay in this top 15 and avoid falling back into the trough.
Alcaraz stalls, the organization criticized
Carlos Alcaraz can’t do it at the end of the season. Out in the semi-finals at the US Open then in Beijing, the Spaniard was then eliminated in the round of 16 in Shanghai and even earlier in this Bercy Masters: for his entry into the second round, against the Russian Roman Safiullin. Not reassuring, as the end-of-year Masters is played next week. Another major failure of the week: the organization of the tournament. With only three courts and very close schedules, fatigue weighed too heavily on the tournament.
World number 4, Jannik Sinner, even gave up before his round of 16, castigating the Parisian organization. The Italian was scheduled to play Thursday afternoon against Alex De Minaur, after finishing his match at 2:30 a.m. the day before against Mackenzie McDonald. The tournament could also move from 2025 to La Défense Arena to the west of Paris to benefit from more spacious infrastructure, making the next edition the last in Bercy.
The French assessment: can do better
The French were 15 on the starting line for this home tournament, counting those who went through the qualifications. Result: no one left on Wednesday. Arthur Son and Adrian Mannarino, the best tricolor cards, were swept away in two sets for their entry into the running. Richard Gasquet, Gaël Monfils and Luca Van Assche were beaten down to the wire in the third set against superior opponents on paper: Tommy Paul, Francisco Cerundolo and Laslo Djere. Ugo Humbert is the only one to have passed the first round, and he delivered a major match in the second round, pushing world number 9, Alexander Zverev, to his limits. But, at the end of the night, the Frenchman ended up giving in, to the great dismay of the always effervescent Parisian public (6-4, 6-7, 7-6).
The fact remains that this defeat closed a starving French record: no player left qualifying out of 7 representatives, then 7 eliminated out of 8 players competing in the first round. The last survivor, Ugo Humbert, therefore went out in the second round. A disillusionment, undoubtedly, while some arrived in good shape at the end of the season. Even if French tennis regains exceptional homogeneity in the world top 100, the French are not yet able to compete with the world’s elite. So, as always: see you, hopefully, next season…
Tickets are available for sale on the official Rolex Paris Masters website. Most tickets are already sold, but a ticket resale service has also opened on the official Rolex Paris Masters website.
The Rolex Paris Masters 2023 is broadcast on the Eurosport group channels, accessible in particular via the Canal + Sport subscription. The semi-finals and finals will be broadcast unencrypted on the C8 channel. From next year until 2026, France TV will broadcast unencrypted part of the matches of the Paris-Bercy Masters and also the Monte-Carlo Masters.
What date for the Paris – Bercy tournament in 2023?
The next edition of the Rolex Paris Masters is taking place from October 28 to November 5, 2023 at the Accor Arena in Bercy.
What is the schedule for the Paris – Bercy 2023 Masters 1000?
The first two days of the tournament are devoted to qualifications while the first round of the main draw begins on the morning of the third day. The Rolex Paris Master program:
- Monday October 30 from 11 a.m. : 1st Round (Central Courts, 1 and 2)
- Monday October 30 from 7:30 p.m. : 1st Round (Central Courts, 1 and 2)
- Tuesday October 31 from 11 a.m. : 1st Round / 2nd Round (Central Courts, 1 and 2)
- Tuesday October 31 from 7:30 p.m. : 1st Round / 2nd Round (Central Courts, 1 and 2)
- Wednesday November 1st from 11 a.m. : 2nd Round (Central Courts, 1 and 2)
- Wednesday November 1st from 7:30 p.m. : 2nd Round (Central Courts, 1 and 2)
- Thursday November 2 from 11 a.m. : 1/8 finals (Central Courts, 1 and 2)
- Thursday November 2 from 7:30 p.m. : 1/8 finals (Central Courts, 1 and 2)
- Friday November 3 from 2 p.m. : 1/4 finals (Central Courts and 1)
- Friday November 3 from 7:30 p.m. : 1/4 finals (Central Courts and 1)
- Saturday November 4 from 11:30 a.m. : 1/2 finals (Central Court)
- Sunday November 5 from 12:30 p.m. : Finals (Central Court)