One of only two all-seeded matchups in the Paris third round pits Daniil Medvedev against Alex de Minaur on Thursday. Marin Cilic and Ugo Humbert are also aiming for a place in the. quarterfinals.
(16) Alex de Minaur vs. (3) Daniil Medvedev
Medvedev and de Minaur will be going head-to-head for the third time in their careers when they clash in round three of the Rolex Paris Masters on Thursday afternoon. Both of their previous encounters came in 2018, and both went Medvedev’s way–1-6, 6-4, 7-5 in Sydney and 6-3, 6-3 in Winston-Salem.
The fifth-ranked Russian was incredible one year later in 2019, but he has struggled this season. Still, he is not too far removed from a semifinal showing at the U.S. Open, so it’s clear his form of old can be recaptured. De Minaur is coming off a runner-up performance in Antwerp and so far in Paris he has defeated Stefano Travaglia and Lorenzo Sonego in straight sets. The 25th-ranked Australian should be able to make this extremely competitive, to the extent that it may be the best match of the day. Still, Medvedev moves almost as well as de Minaur and wields superior firepower on serve and from the back of the court.
Pick: Medvedev in 3
Marin Cilic vs. Ugo Humbert
Humbert is one of the most in-form players on tour right now as he heads into third-round action on Thursday. The 34th-ranked Frenchman reached third round at the Rome Masters and the quarterfinals in Hamburg before winning the second title of his career two weeks ago in Antwerp. Maintaining momentum in Paris, Humbert went the distance to third-set tiebreakers in each of his first two matches–outlasting Casper Ruud and No. 2 seed Stefanos Tsitsipas.
With a full day off after playing on Tuesday, the 22-year-old should be facing Cilic on a full tank. That is bad news for the 43rd-ranked Croat, who is nowhere near as confident as his opponent these days. He is just 15-10 in 2020 following recent Cologne losses to Alejandro Davidovich Fokina (second round) and Steve Johnson (first round). Cilic opened in Paris with a three-set defeat of Felix Auger-Aliassime and then got a walkover from Corentin Moutet. This is where his luck runs out at the hands of a red-hot Humbert.
Pick: Humbert in 2
WWW?
Med in 3; Umbert in 2
What a fun match, so far! Meddy v De Minaur 😀
Lots of wild shots from Meddy and De Minaur answering as cool as a cucumber. I think if Med settles down a wee bit it will be good but right now the contrast between Alex and Daniil is entertaining. Not the best tennis but wild, lol.
I have to say it: I LOVE ADM! Not sure he’ll win under the wild flinging and flailing Meddy. Poor octopus is having a hard time keeping his tentacles under control. My guess is he’ll settle down and could still win in 3.
Allez Ugo! Lefty Frenchie is growing on me.
(couldn’t wake up to see Diego’s match, awake for all of ADM vs Meddy. Fell back to sleep and missed the entire Raonic match.)
Will try to stay awake for the Rafa match! Not listening to election results or paying attention …completely ignoring election news. Tennis is a mental health savior.