Carlos Alcaraz is the clear title favorite with Jannik Sinner and Novak Djokovic not playing, but he won’t have the crowd behind him against Ugo Humbert on Thursday. Meanwhile, Stefanos Tsitsipas faces Francisco Cerundolo.
Ugo Humbert vs. (2) Carlos Alcaraz
Alcaraz and Humbert will be going head-to-head for the third time in their careers and for the third time this season when they clash in round three of the Rolex Paris Masters on Thursday. Both of their previous encounters have gone Alcaraz’s way; in four sets at Wimbledon and 6-3, 6-3 during Davis Cup round-robin competition.
This is a dangerous match for the second-ranked Spaniard, who is playing well but at the same time has won just a single tournament since Wimbledon (Beijing). Not only is Humbert a fantastic indoor hard-court player, but he is also at home in France and enjoying huge crowd support. The world No. 18 has looked good so far this week with victories over Brandon Nakashima and Marcos Giron, while Alcaraz opened with a 7-5, 6-1 defeat of Nicolas Jarry. An upset would not be entirely shocking, but a slight edge goes to the No. 2 seed.
Pick: Alcaraz in 3
(10) Stefanos Tsitsipas vs. Francisco Cerundolo
Prior to last week’s Basel tournament, Tsitsipas and Cerundolo had never met. Now they will be squaring off for the second time in the span of nine days. Tsitsipas won a 6-3, 6-7(3), 7-6(4) thriller–although it was a match he should have won in easy straight sets only to squander a significant lead in the second. The 11th-ranked Greek certainly won’t get caught looking past Cerundolo in Paris given what transpired in their previous encounter.
It has already been a good week for both guys. Tsitsipas battled back from a set down to beat Roberto Carballes Baena and then took care of Alejandro Tabilo, while Cerundolo dismissed Quentin Halys and then put a dent in Andrey Rublev’s Nitto ATP Finals hopes by prevailing in two tiebreakers. Although Tsitsipas is by no means an amazing indoor player, he is better than Cerundolo on this surface and is a former Nitto ATP Finals champion (2019). The 10th seed should be able to win this one in easier fashion than he did in Basel.
Pick: Tsitsipas in 2
