For the first time since the US Open final in September, Novak Djokovic is back on court this week, competing in the Paris Masters and he is both top seed and favourite for the event, leading the outright market at 7/5.
But the Serbian does not have a lot of recent game time under his belt and with ATP qualifying points up for grabs, there could be players at the event in France with more incentive.
Medvedev Looks to Defend Title
According to the betting, Russian Daniil Medvedev will be Djokovic’s closest competitor in Paris at 4/1 and of course defeated his Serbian counterpart in New York to claim his first ever Grand Slam title just over a month ago.
And he also comes into this tournament as the defending champion, having beaten Alexander Zverev 5-7 6-4 6-1 in last year’s final.
But while punters can make an argument for Medvedev, who is also in one of the softer quarters, there is still better value to be had elsewhere.
Sinner the Best Pick in Motivated Quartet
There are four players competing in this week’s Paris event who know that lifting the title could also help them secure one of the two remaining qualifying spots for the end-of-year ATP finals.
Casper Ruud, Hubert Hurkacz, Jannik Sinner and improving Briton Cameron Norrie are all in the mix for the final two places – the top six positions have already been filled – and Sinner looks the most intriguing betting option of the bunch.
The 20-year-old Italian has carried his excellent breakthrough form of 2020 into this year and advanced to the fourth round of the US Open last month.
But he also claimed the Sofia Open and European Open titles in October before reaching the semi-finals of the Vienna Open, having seen off Reilly Opelka and Ruud in the tournament.
That strong form coupled with the desire to qualify for the ATP Finals with a good performance in this competition renders Sinner a great outside selection at 14/1 to go all the way.
He also finds himself in a fairly soft quarter with Medvedev the only notable threat and he cannot even meet the Russian until the last eight.
Before that, Pablo Carreno Busta – seeded 12th – is the highest rated player Sinner could encounter.
Reasons to Oppose Zverev and Tsitsipas
Zverev reached the final of the Paris Masters in 2020 and comes into the 2021 edition fresh from winning the Vienna Open, having defeated Frances Tiafoe in the final.
But the quick turnaround in tournaments will do Zverev no favours and his section features a number of players who could be problematic opponents, including wildcard Richard Gasquet, Russian Karen Khachanov, Argentinian Diego Schwartzman and sixth seed Ruud.
Stefanos Tsitsipas, meanwhile, is seeded third for this event but makes little appeal given his recent performances.
The Greek was comfortably dispatched by Tiafoe in the round of 16 in Vienna, despite having been top seed, and was also ineffective in the most recent Grand Slam, losing in the third round of the US Open.
*All odds correct at time of writing
