Rolex Paris Masters: main draw gets under way at La Défense, Humbert in the evening session
The season's last Masters 1000 launched its main draw on Monday at Paris La Défense Arena. Zverev and Alcaraz top the bill, while Ugo Humbert opens his campaign tonight against Botic van de Zandschulp.
Game, set and the final sprint. After two days of qualifying, the Rolex Paris Masters got down to business on Monday 2 November with the first matches of its main draw. The tournament, the last Masters 1000 of the season, is being played on hard courts at Paris La Défense Arena until Sunday 8 November.
Zverev top seed
According to the British federation (LTA), Germany's Alexander Zverev is the number 1 seed, ahead of Spain's Carlos Alcaraz (2), American Ben Shelton (3) and Canada's Félix Auger-Aliassime (4). They are followed by Daniil Medvedev (5), Flavio Cobolli (6), Novak Djokovic (7) and Alex de Minaur (8).
The defending champion, Jannik Sinner, who beat Auger-Aliassime in last year's final (6-4, 7-6), does not appear in this list of seeds.
The arena can hold up to 15,000 spectators for the event. The winner will collect 1,000 ATP ranking points, from total prize money of €6,309,095. The tournament is directed by former French player Cédric Pioline.
The draw was made on the evening of Friday 30 October. Among Monday evening's headline matches not involving French players, Canada's Denis Shapovalov takes on Russia's Karen Khachanov, scheduled from 7pm. Britain's Cameron Norrie, a direct entrant into the main draw, is also among those in action on the first day.
The French contingent
The French headliner of the evening is Ugo Humbert, who faces the Netherlands' Botic van de Zandschulp on Monday, scheduled from 8.30pm. Titouan Droguet is also due to play today, against Slovakia's Alex Molcan.
Tuesday will be a busy day for the French players:
- Quentin Halys against Britain's Arthur Fery, who is playing the Paris main draw for the first time;
- Arthur Rinderknech against Argentina's Francisco Cerundolo;
- Benjamin Bonzi against American Taylor Fritz.
The ATP also lists Arthur Fils and the young Arthur Géa among the French players entered. Géa, a wildcard, is making his debut in the tournament's main draw. In qualifying, Hugo Gaston failed to get past the first round, beaten by the Czech Vit Kopriva.
The schedule through to Sunday
The first second-round matches will begin on Tuesday. The doubles final is scheduled for Sunday 8 November at 12.30pm, with the singles final not before 3pm, according to the ATP.
From 6 to 8 November, the tournament will also host a wheelchair tennis event (WC500 category), featuring British players Alfie Hewett and Gordon Reid among others.
Next up for the French: Ugo Humbert's match tonight, followed by Halys, Rinderknech and Bonzi entering the fray on Tuesday.
