Zverev, Djokovic now out of Paris Masters, Alcaraz advances

It was a night of mayhem at the Paris Masters as top seeds tumbled out in dramatic fashion, led by newly crowned world number one Alexander Zverev and 24-time Grand Slam champion Novak Djokovic.

Fresh off winning his first major titles at the French and US Opens, 29-year-old Zverev saw his reign at the top of the ATP rankings suffer an immediate blow. The German dropped his opening match 7-6 (7/5), 6-2 to 24th-ranked Lorenzo Musetti after blowing a commanding lead in the first-set tie-break. Zverev later voiced his frustration at having to justify his top ranking following his recent breakthroughs.

Zverev, Djokovic out

Djokovic suffered a similarly shock defeat, effectively ending his season and extinguishing his hopes of qualifying for the season-ending ATP Finals in Turin. The 39-year-old Serb smoothly took the opening set against world number 83 Rinky Hijikata before the Australian qualifier staged a remarkable comeback to prevail 2-6, 6-3, 6-3. Fifth seed Daniil Medvedev and seventh seed Frances Tiafoe also joined the list of early departures, with Medvedev falling in straight sets to Peru’s Ignacio Buse and Tiafoe losing a thriller to Quentin Halys.

Amid the heavy casualties among the top guys, second seed Carlos Alcaraz managed to buck the trend. The seven-time major winner rallied from 4-1 down in a first-set tie-break to overcome American Alex Michelsen 7-6 (7/4), 6-3 and advance. Halys’ upset of Tiafoe had a silver lining for the host nation, securing an ATP Finals spot for 22-year-old Arthur Fils, who capped off the session by defeating Tomas Machac.

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