It’s a jam-packed second day of action at the Paris Rolex Masters, as Alexei Popyrin battles big-hitting Italian Matteo Berrettini and Basel finalist Ben Shelton takes on eclectic Frenchman Corentin Moutet.
Alexei Popyrin vs. Matteo Berrettini
Matteo Berrettini won his two previous matches against Alexei Popyrin, but they were so long ago that the results are probably not relevant. Their last encounter came on the indoor courts of Vienna back in 2021. Since then, Berrettini has battled countless injuries and he’s seen his ranking dip to well outside the top 100 earlier this year. Early summer success and a healthy body means he is back to No. 36 in the world. In that same time, however, Popyrin had a breakthrough and sits at No. 24.
The Aussie had a magnificent run to the title at the Montreal Masters this summer, and while he didn’t quite make it into the business end of the U.S. Open, he advanced to the round of 16 and knocked out Novak Djokovic along the way. Popyrin’s results haven’t been as impressive this fall. He may well be suffering end-of-season fatigue.
With Berrettini’s serve paving the way for him and Popyrin’s recent results suggesting a dip in form, expect this one to go to the Italian.
Cheryl pick: Berrettini in 2
Ricky pick: Berrettini in 2
Ben Shelton vs. (Q) Corentin Moutet
American Ben Shelton comes into Paris off a stellar run to the final at the Basel Swiss Indoors. He came up just short in a competitive match against exciting new French star Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard. The 22-year-old is ranked 19th, just a bit off his career high of No. 13, but given his third-round loss at the U.S. Open when he was defending semifinal points, that he is still in the top 20 is impressive.
His first-round opponent is Frenchman Corentin Moutet, who was not able to score a wild card at home and had to qualify. The snub is likely due to the depth of French tennis right now and the fact that Moutet hasn’t won a tour-level match since the middle of August in Winston-Salem. He has played six tournaments in that time. Under other circumstances, a tired Shelton might have made for a possible upset alert. Not in this case.
Shelton wields one of the biggest serves on tour right now. Playing indoors and against an opponent as out-of-sorts as Moutet has been, anything other than a victory for the American would be a shock.
Cheryl pick: Shelton in 2
Ricky pick: Shelton in 2
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