The BNP Paribas Masters is the ninth and final ATP World Tour Masters 1000 event before the end of year finals in London.
BNP Paribas Masters
With Murray’s withdrawal, there are two final spots up for grabs in the Barclays ATP World Tour Finals and currently Wawrinka and Gasquet occupy those spots. Stan will be under pressure in Paris, so his draw is crucial and he gets a reasonable one, likely to play Feliciano Lopez and Nicolas Almagro before likely dealing with Djokovic.
Gasquet has it more difficult as he likely plays fellow Frenchman Tsonga, also in the running. Whoever wins that (4 wins apiece) will likely qualify. Raonic has an outside chance and Tommy Haas would have to win the tournament to qualify. It should be exciting in the early rounds as this mess gets sorted out.
Wildcards go to a pack of dangerous floaters in Nicolas Mahut, Edouard Roger-Vasselin, Michael Llodra and Adrian Mannarino.
Let’s break it down:
ATP Level: 1000
Surface: Indoor Hard
Defending Champion: David ‘The Wall’ Ferrer – In form (of course) and chasing a 3rd title this year.
Nasty Floater: Grigor Dimitrov – Is on a good run with his first title 2 weeks ago and could face Del Potro.
Veteran Watch: Tommy ‘The Hitman’ Haas – Must win here to qualify for London. Could face friend Federer in the 3rd round.
Up and Coming: Edouard Roger-Vasselin, - Had a great week in Basel taking a set off Del Potro in the semi-finals.
Slumping: Gilles Simon – Beaten 1 and love by Alejandro Falla last week. That’s not a good look.
On Fire: Rafael Nadal – Bidding to become the first player to win six ATP World Tour Masters 1000 titles in the same season.
My pick: Novak Djokovic – Even though qualified, Nole loves the Masters events and can swing freely.
Did You Know? David Ferrer was the first player outside the Top 4 to win a Masters 1000 title since Robin Soderling defeated Gael Monfils in the 2010 Paris final.
Thanks for reading and check back next week for more picks!
