Damien Kayat previews the Paris Masters round of 16 matches between Casper Rudd and Marcos Giron as well as Danil Medvedev and Seb Korda.
2021 ATP Tour
Masters 1000 Series
Paris Masters
AccorHotels Arena
Selected Round of 16 Matches- 4th November
Casper Rudd 31/100 | Marcos Giron 47/20
Casper Rudd now looks incredibly well poised for the ATP Finals qualification after Jannik Sinner’s defeat to Carlos Alcaraz. That being said, both Hubert Hurkacz and Cameron Norrie still remain in the Paris draw. The Norwegian may need a victory here to continue his bid for what seemed an unlikely ATP Finals berth. Rudd has compiled an impressive 2021 record of 15-5 in Masters 1000 events. The best of those results have certainly come on clay courts. But his late-season blitzkrieg in the smaller hardcourt events have propelled him into this position. His formidable forehand has allowed him to evolve on these quicker surfaces. Rudd had a fairly difficult opening round proposition in the consistent Alexander Bublik. But the Norwegian opened his Paris account with a towering performance, thrashing Bublik 6-4, 6-0. How will he handle the escalating pressure as every single match brings us closer to discovering our final eight in Turin?
Marcos Giron is freerolling in Paris this week after emerging from qualifying. The American has picked up two huge victories in the main draw this week. He first saw off Vienna finalist Frances Tiafoe before conquering Argentine Diego Schwartzman. The 28-year-old American is yet to win his maiden ATP title. But he does seem to have found some inspiring late-season form. And that includes an excellent recent result on indoor hardcourts. He reached the semi-finals of the Sofia Open just a month ago. Giron will obviously enter this match as the firm underdog. But something has to be said about the battle-readiness of coming through the arduous qualification system this week. Giron is in solid form and he will just be viewing this as a wonderful free hit.
Verdict: Rudd to win in three at 26/10 – This is going to be a tough assignment for Rudd.
He admitted that he was extremely nervous when he took on Alexander Bublik (though it didn’t really show in his performance). Giron is pretty similar to Rudd: he hugs the baseline and tries to dominate with his forehand. But I think that Rudd’s ATP Finals dream should motivate him to pull through in a tight match.
Danil Medvedev 2/15 | Seb Korda 48/10
Danil Medvedev needed to overcome yet another mini-collapse as he saw for Belarusian Ilya Ivashka 7-5, 6-4. He led 5-1 in the first set, seemingly cruising to a routine victory. But those pesky unforced errors mounted and the Russian was brought back to 5-5 in the first. This has become a slightly disturbing trend for the Russian of late. If he wishes to remain amongst the tennis elite for an extended period, he will need to eradicate these self-destructive periods. That being said, Medvedev still retains an outside shot of usurping Djokovic as World Number One this year. Granted, that will require some fairly crazy scenarios. But the US Open champion and defending Paris Masters champ has become the natural successor to the mantle of the ‘Big Three’.
Seb Korda is keeping his schizophrenic season going with a strong display in Paris thus far. He has beaten two in-form players this week in Aslan Karastev and Marin Cilic. I have to admit, the ease with which he beat Cilic was a surprise to me. Sure, 33-year-old Clic was probably starting to feel the effects of an intense few weeks. But there was a ruthless efficiency in the American’s game that I have rarely seen. He is in a murderous section of the draw and will next meet Danil Medvedev for the first time. It’s been a strange year for this NextGen star. He won his maiden title at the Emilia-Romagna Open and enjoyed deep runs at the Miami Open and Wimbledon. But can he keep the momentum going this week? His effortless power can sometimes be nullified by a distinct lack in intensity (Korda can occasionally be a bit too ‘chill’ for his own good).
Verdict: Medvedev to win in three at 3/1- This is just a way of finding some value in what could be a pretty one-sided encounter.
Medvedev has shown his proclivity for collapsing while Korda was absolutely serene against Cilic.
