Paris Masters 2021: Novak Djokovic Advances via Walkover; Full Thursday Results

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Action continued in the French capital at the Rolex Paris Masters on Thursday.

The eight-man field for the 2021 ATP Finals is nearly set, with two spots up for grabs. With Jannik Sinner and Felix Auger-Aliassime losing in the second round, the door is open for Casper Ruud, Hubert Hurkacz or Cameron Norrie to punch a ticket to Turin, Italy. All three were in action Thursday. 

Daniil Medvedev and Alexander Zverev, who have already qualified for the Finals, also took the court in Paris.

Novak Djokovic, meanwhile, won via walkover to the quarterfinals after Gael Monfils was forced to withdraw.

Thursday Results

No. 1 Novak Djokovic def. No. 15 Gael Monfils (walkover)

No. 4 Alexander Zverev def. No. 16 Grigor Dimitrov, 7-6(4), 6-7(3), 6-3

No. 6 Casper Ruud def. Marcos Giron 6-2, 6-1

No. 7 Hubert Hurkacz def. Dominik Koepfer 4-6, 7-5, 6-2

Taylor Fritz def. No. 10 Cameron Norrie 6-3, 7-6(3)

James Duckworth def. Alexei Popyrin 7-6(6), 6-4

Sebastian Korda vs. No. 2 Daniil Medvedev

Carlos Alcaraz vs. Hugo Gaston

Thursday Recap

While the job isn’t done yet, Hurkacz took a big step toward competing in the Finals with a three-set victory over Dominik Koepfer.

The 24-year-old dropped serve in the third game of the match, which was the difference in the opening set.

The second set began with four straight service breaks as neither player could find a comfort zone. Things leveled off after that, and Hurkacz held at 5-5 to put the pressure on Koepfer. The German was unable to keep his nerve, setting up a pivotal third set.

There wasn’t much drama to be had from there as Koepfer won only half of his 28 service points. Hurkacz capitalized on a pair of break-point opportunities to seal the win.

For Norrie, the day couldn’t have unfolded in a much worse fashion. Not only did Hurkacz prevail, but the 26-year-old Brit also suffered a straight-set defeat to Taylor Fritz.

“It’s looking unlikely, I guess,” Norrie said about Finals qualification. “I haven’t done the math or anything, but I think they [Ruud and Hurkacz] were ahead of me already and for them to still be in the tournament it looks difficult.”

For Zverev, the Paris Masters presents a chance to make a final statement ahead of the ATP’s year-end event.

The 2020 U.S. Open runner-up led 5-4 on serve in the first set but saw Grigor Dimitrov fight back and eventually force a tiebreaker. Zverev quickly took control and built a 6-2 lead. Dimitrov made things interesting but couldn’t claw his way back.

The second-set tiebreaker was the inverse after Zverev couldn’t seal the deal on two match points. Dimitrov rode the wave of momentum from holding serve into the extra game and went ahead 6-1. That provided him with plenty cushion to even the match at one set apiece.

The Bulgarian is probably ruing his inability to make Zverev pay for seven break points in the third frame. Claiming any one of those would’ve put Dimitrov in the driver’s seat. Instead, Zverev held firm and earned a critical break in the seventh game—his first break-point chance of the set.

Down 3-5 and serving at 30-40, Dimitrov dumped a backhand slice into the net to bring the battle to a close.

With Thursday’s win, Zverev is now 27-2 in singles competition since losing to Auger-Aliassime at Wimbledon.