In Bercy, it’s almost time for the Rolex Paris Masters, 39th of the name. The draw will be made this Friday (7:30 p.m.). Qualifying begins Saturday morning. The first shots of the main draw will be given on Monday, at 11 a.m. sharp.
For his farewell to the banks of the Seine, to the good old Palais Omnisports de Paris-Bercy (POPB, today Accor Arena in the 12th arrondissement), and to its All Saints’ Day atmosphere, the tournament created in 1986 brings together nine of the ten best players of the world, from Alcaraz to Zverev, via Jannik Sinner, the n°1.
“This 39th edition must be a celebration,” proclaims Cédric Pioline, the tournament director. We would like to celebrate this magnificent adventure of almost forty years between the Accor Arena and the Rolex Paris Masters. » Only Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic, record holder of titles (7) and outgoing winner, will be absent.
The program
From Monday 28 November until Thursday 31, the singles main draw matches begin and continue on the center court and courts 1 and 2, from 11 a.m. for the day session and “not before » 7 p.m., according to the established formula, for the evening session.
“We are going to bring forward the start of the evening session to 7 p.m. instead of 7:30 p.m., and go from four to three daytime matches from Monday to Thursday,” explains Pioline – who specifies that these changes were planned at the end of the edition 2023, even before the new ATP regulations require that no match starts after 11 p.m. This new system will make it possible to streamline the flow of spectators during transitions between daytime and evening sessions, which has been a problem in recent years. »
Friday, November 1, the four quarter-finals will be played, with two matches during the day, starting at 2 p.m., and two in the evening not before 7 p.m. Saturday November 2, the first half will take place from 2 p.m. and the second not before 4:30 p.m.
Finally, Sunday November 3, the final is scheduled for 3 p.m. – preceded by the doubles final (12:30 p.m.).
For fans, however, the Bercy tournament starts this Saturday, October 26, with the qualifications, very tough given the limited number of players, 44, admitted directly to the “Masters 1000” level – with 7 qualified, 4 wild cards and a special exempt (SE) for a main draw of 56 players, with 16 seeds, including the first eight exempt from the 1st round.
Tickets are on sale only on the official tournament website.
Favorites
The best players on the planet are announced in Paris with the exception of the two icons still active, Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal.
That being said, the Rolex Paris Master field brings together the elite of world tennis, No. 1 Jannik Sinner and No. 2 Carlos Alcaraz, thus nine of the top ten in the ATP rankings. With, in order, the n°1s. and 2., Zverev (n°3), Medvedev (n°5), Fritz (n°6), Rublev (n°7), Ruud (n°8), Dimitrov (n°9), and De Minaur ( No. 10). Some top contenders are also present in Paris: Tsitsipas (n°11), Paul (n°12), Rune (n°14), Tiafoe (n°15), Musetti (n°17) or Shelton (n°15). °23).
The French
The best French chances rest in theory on Ugo Humbert (n°16), our number 1, as well as on Arthur Fils (n°20), winner of Humbert a month ago in the final of the ATP 500 tournament in Tokyo, i.e. level just below a Master 1000.
The two players are the only Frenchmen admitted directly into the main draw, and Humbert the only one protected by the seeded status.
However, five invited players strengthen the French contingent: Gaël Monfils (n°52), 38 years old, twice finalist in 2009 (Djokovic) and 2010 (Söderling), Richard Gasquet (n°133), 38 years old, semi-finalist of the 2007 edition (Nalbandian), Adrian Mannarino (n°57), 36 years old, Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard (n°50), 21 years old, Alexandre Müller (n°68), 27 years old.
Seven French people are therefore sure starters, while waiting for possible compatriots, who would win their two matches to get out of qualifying on Sunday, such as Hugo Gaston (n°73), Arthur Cazaux (n°80), Quentin Halys (n° °90) or Harold Mayot (n°106).
The diffusion
On television, the tournament will be broadcast in full on Eurosport, mainly on Eurosport 1, as well as on Eurosport’s digital platforms. France Télévisions will broadcast one match per day until the semi-finals on its digital channel. The final will be broadcast on France 3.
This Saturday and Sunday, the qualifications will be broadcast live on the Rolex Paris Masters YouTube channel.
