Notes from Paris, day one...

Tuesday 2nd November 2021

Good morning, and greetings from Paris…

Well, I’m not actually there. If anything, Paris is coming to me. Tomorrow, a friend from the French capital is making a first UK visit since before Lockdown #1, 2020.

As for the tennis, day one of the Rolex Paris Masters was about as entertaining as they come…

Barring any big 1st round shocks, we got everything you could ask for. Long matches, lively crowds, comebacks, match points saved and squandered. And in-between the double faults, Hawk-Eye replays, and unenforced errors – some moments of pure tennis brilliance, too.

Long matches…

One thing I noticed was the number of three-set matches. Six of Monday’s 11 encounters went the distance to a third & final set. Four of them burst the two-and-a-half-hour mark. With Andy Murray’s 6-4, 5-7, 7-6 loss to Dominik Koepfer ticking over the three-hour line.

• In comparison to those 6 out of 11 three-set matches on day one in Paris yesterday (55%). The 1st round of the previous ATP Masters 1000 event, Indian Wells last month, saw just 10 of the 32 matches in the 1st round go to a final set (31%)

Our 100/1 Ones to Watch outsider, 21-year-old world no.39, Sebastian Korda, came through in an absorbing two hours and 55 minutes battle. Eventually seeing off the pre-match favourite Aslan Karatsev, 6-2, 6-7, 7-6. That victory saw Korda’s title odds cut in half, from 100/1 to 50/1.

Lefty looking good…

Can those long matches be attributed to slow playing conditions? That was the verdict of a few pundits yesterday. I paid attention to the thoughts and comments of Greg Rusedski and Mark Petchey during the Amazon Prime Video coverage…

The courts might speed up, the more fast-moving feet and flying yellow felt that pound them in the days ahead. But slice was an effective go-to tool for many men on day one. And as Rusedski highlighted, left-handers with a mean slice and a ‘can opener’ serve have gone well here at the Paris indoor venue before…

Greg knows what he's talking about, having won this tournament back in 1998. That left-hander angle could be good for us. Our 40/1 shot Cameron Norrie is a lefty – and he’s full of confidence right now, too. The 26-year-old was a convincing 6-2, 6-1 winner on Monday afternoon. The new world no.13 has now won 12 of his last 14 matches.

• We’re on a total of five players at Each Way prices for the Paris Masters. If you missed Monday’s email, you can catch up on my Outright Winner preview here

Play continues in Paris today. No bets from me. I’m monitoring the matches and markets every day. I’ll be back tomorrow with more. Enjoy the tennis…

Best wishes,

Tom Wilson

Ones to Watch