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Frances Tiafoe and Andrey Rublev were amongst the prominent names to bow out of the 2024 Paris Masters on day 2 of main-draw action. The last tournament of the regular season has already seen several upsets, with a few more names added to the list on October 29.
The 2024 Paris Masters provided fans with more blockbuster action on the second day of the tournament, with Carlos Alcaraz winning his opening match in straight sets. Other big winners from day 2 include Stefanos Tsitsipas, Jack Draper, Ben Shelton, and Alex de Minaur.
Other popular players, including Frances Tiafoe, were not fortunate enough and had to exit the Masters 1000 tournament on October 29. With that said, let’s take a look at the five most shocking results from the day at the 2024 Paris Masters:
#5. Hubert Hurkacz
The Paris Masters was Hubert Hurkacz’s second tournament since the US Open. Seeded 12th at the French capital, the Pole received a first-round bye and kicked off his campaign against Alex Michelsen. Hurkacz, known for his supreme serving skills, struggled with his serve throughout the match.
Michelsen broke Hurkacz thrice in the first set and once in the second en route to a 6-1, 6-3 win. The American did not face a single breakpoint on his serve and created 13 on Hurkacz’s. Moreover, the Pole won just 22% points (4/18) on his second serve.
#4. Lorenzo Musetti
Lorenzo Musetti came to Paris on the back of a semifinal finish at the Erste Bank Open in Vienna. The 16th-seeded Italian began his campaign at the Paris Masters against Jan-Lennard Struff and took an early 4-2 lead. However, the German quickly wiped out the deficit and broke Musetti twice to take the one-set advantage.
The German continued his onslaught in the second set as he broke the Italian twice again to win the contest 6-4, 6-2. Struff brought his A-game to the match, hitting nine aces and winning 84% of first-serve points. The loss brings an end to Musetti’s 2024 season, during which, he reached his maiden Grand Slam semifinal at Wimbledon and bagged the bronze medal at the Paris Olympics.
#3. Casper Ruud
Casper Ruud’s poor run on hard courts on the ATP Tour continued at the 2024 Paris Masters, where he failed to clear his first hurdle. After a first-round bye, the three-time Grand Slam finalist faced a familiar foe in the form of Jordan Thompson in the second round in the French capital. This was the fourth meeting between the duo this year alone, with Thompson winning two of their three prior encounters.
The Aussie just about managed to bag the first set via the tiebreaker, only for seventh-seeded Ruud to level the deficit in the second set with two breaks. In the third set, Thompson looked focused as he broke the Norwegian twice to take the win 7-6 (3), 3-6, 6-4. Ruud’s game was undone by a staggering 53 unforced errors.
The loss endangers the Norwegian’s chances of qualifying for the ATP Finals. He is currently placed seventh in the race to Turin but could fall out of contention as several players ranked just below him are still active in Paris.
#2. Andrey Rublev
Andrey Rublev bowed out of the Paris Masters after a close defeat to Francisco Cerundolo. Seeded sixth at the Masters 1000 tournament, Rublev was given a first-round bye. In the second-round contest, Rublev and Cerundolo struggled with their serve as they both were broken four times throughout the match.
The contest of close margins went in Cerundolo’s favor as he emerged victorious via two tiebreakers, 7-6 (6) and 7-6 (5). Like Ruud, the loss greatly hurts Rublev’s chances for the 2024 ATP Finals. The Russian currently occupies the last qualification spot for the year-end championships in Turin.
#1 Frances Tiafoe
Frances Tiafoe was arguably handed the toughest first-round draw at the 2024 Paris Masters as he faced an in-form Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard. The 14th seed, to his credit, did extremely well to push the French youngster to three sets. The American took the first set via a tiebreaker, but Mpetshi Perricard restored parity in the second set and broke Tiafoe once in the third to win the match 6-7 (5), 7-6 (4), 6-3.
Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard, who won the ATP 500 title in Basel last week without dropping his serve, continued his excellent serving display against Frances Tiafoe as he saved both breakpoints on his serve. In addition, the 6’8″ Frenchman fired 28 aces and won 92% of points on his first serve.
Frances Tiafoe also performed well on his serve for most of the match. But just one breakpoint opportunity was enough for Mpetshi Perricard to turn the match.
Edited by Neelabhra Roy