Who Will Be The Ultimate Master In Paris

Although the Paris Masters is still a number of months away, there is still a large amount of discussion regarding who will come out on top and with it being part of the 2021 ATP Tour Masters 1000, some of the biggest names in tennis will be participating.

The ATP Tour Masters 1000 plays host to some of the largest events outside the traditional Grand Slam tournaments and this year is no different, with nine different locations playing host to the world’s best aces.

This select band of tournaments was meant to get underway in March at the world-famous Indian Wells and although such plans were scuppered by the effects of COVID-19, it is thankfully set to be rescheduled for October.

Which meant Florida instead of California took the mantle of kickstarting proceedings and with the Miami Open getting things underway, it was down to Poland’s Hubert Hurkacz to claim first blood for 2021.

Admittedly Hurkacz may not be the biggest household name and especially when compared to the likes of the previous Miami Open winner Roger Federer. However, there’s no better way to grow your profile than by winning tournaments such as this.

From there, matters moved to the Monte-Carlo Masters and this time it would be the perhaps better-known talents of Stefanos Tsitsipas who would come out on top, as the Greek got the best of Andrey Rublev in the final.

Staying in Europe and from there, it was the rather sunny climbs of Madrid, which served as the next leg of the worldwide tour and one that would be a rather pleasurable stop for Germany’s Alexander Zverev.

In what was the first final of 2021 to go to three sets, Zverev came from behind and after dropping the first to fellow finalist Matteo Berrettini, the fifth seed would eventually get the better of Italian in an entertaining clash.

While the first of the genuine big names found favour for this year in Rome, as the capital city played host to the Italian Open and it also played host to two of tennis’ largest juggernauts in last months’ final. 

Serving as a warm up to the French Open, the likes of Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic took the opportunity to show their wares and it was these two who would eventually meet in the deciding clash.

One that saw the Spaniard come out on top in three sets and although the Mallorca born star would earn the bragging rights that day, his Serbian counterpart would exact revenge at Roland Garros just a few weeks later.

While such was the performance by Djokovic at Roland Garros, it would have caused an upset within the New Jersey sports betting community and with so many punters backing Nadal to win on French soil, it would have made the sportsbooks even richer than they were before. 

With the French Open now crowning a winner for 2021, top tier tennis will not return for a few months yet and with the next contests being played on the indoor Hard surface rather than opposed to Clay, it could mean more dominance for Daniil Medvedev.

The Russian was successful on two Hard surface events within the ATP Tour Masters last year, the first being victory in Shanghai and the second more importantly being at the 2020 edition of the Paris Masters.

Which automatically would make him one of, if not the favourite for success in 2021 and although there is still a great deal of tennis to be played before Paris opens its doors once more, it is particularly hard to look past the 25-year-old.

Especially as he is currently ranked number two in the world right now (as of May 2021) and if he can continue his recent semblance of positive form, the rankings points will be sure to follow in due course.

Of course, if there is one thing that should not be forgotten, it is the amount of tennis that is played across the year and when you add in the threat of also falling ill during a global pandemic, fitness will be key for Medvedev and his counterparts.

Therefore, if the biggest names on the world stage today can stay fit and healthy by the time this tour rolls round to Paris, some incredible matches will be on the horizon. Something that will certainly appeal to a large number of tennis supporters within the French capital.