Karen Khachanov is the last remaining unseeded player remaining in the Paris draw, but he could have his hands full with Alexander Zverev on Friday. Dominic Thiem and Jack Sock are also aiming for a place in the semifinals.
(4) Alexander Zverev vs. Karen Khachanov
Zverev and Khachanov will be going head-to-head for the third time in their careers when they clash in the Rolex Paris Masters quarterfinals on Friday afternoon. Both of their previous encounters have gone the way of Zverev, who won 7-6(3), 6-4 on the indoor hard courts of St. Petersburg in 2016 before surviving 4-6, 7-6(4), 2-6, 6-3, 6-3 in round four of this year’s French Open.
A borderline Masters 1000 specialist, the fifth-ranked German is through to a seventh such quarterfinal this season. That includes a triumph in Madrid, which gave him three Masters 1000 titles in his career. Zverev advanced to the Paris quarters by easing past Frances Tiafoe and Diego Schwartzman, while Khachanov beat Filip Krajinovic, Matthew Ebden, and John Isner–the latter in a third-set tiebreaker. Zverev has to like his chances based on his current form, being more rested than the Russian, and given his past success in this matchup.
Pick: Zverev in 2
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(16) Jack Sock vs. (6) Dominic Thiem
Is it happening again? Sock would not earn a spot in the Nitto ATP Finals this time around with a Paris title, but a trip to the winner’s trophy would be no less shocking than last year’s run. In fact, it would be even more stunning in 2018 based on how bad the 26-year-old American had been throughout this season. Sock was a horrendous 7-20 on the singles court prior to arriving in Paris and he would have ended 2018 outside the top 150 in the rankings if he had lost his opening match. Instead, the 16th seed followed up a first-round bye with straight-set routs of Richard Gasquet and lucky loser Malek Jaziri.
Up next for Sock on Friday is one of the players whom he defeated during last year’s run to his first career Masters 1000 title. He trounced Thiem 6-2, 6-4 in the 2017 Paris third round but still trails the head-to-head series 2-1. The eighth-ranked Austrian prevailed 6-4, 6-3 at the 2015 Miami Masters before getting the job done 7-5, 6-7(5), 6-1 a year later in Indian Wells. Thiem, who will only miss out on a London spot if he loses to Sock and neither Juan Martin Del Potro nor Rafael Nadal withdraws, has advanced this week with victories over Gilles Simon and Borna Coric. Although Sock is at least playing decent tennis again, he will have to do a lot more than beat Gasquet and Jaziri before he can be expected to compete with top-10 opponents.
Pick: Thiem in 2
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