Frenchmen Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard and Arthur Fils will headline Day 2 of main-draw competition at the Paris Masters. Mpetshi Perricard tries to stay hot against Frances Tiafoe, while Fils faces 2014 U.S. Open champion Marin Cilic.
(14) Frances Tiafoe vs. (WC) Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard
Mpetshi Perricard captured the biggest title of his career and his second overall this past week in Basel. The 21-year-old Frenchman is up to No. 31 in the world thank to his haul of 500 ranking points, which he secured without dropping serve a single time in the entire tournament. Mpetshi Perricard faced only three break points in five matches.
In other words, Tiafoe could be in trouble on the indoor hard courts of the Rolex Paris Masters when they meet for the first time on Tuesday afternoon. The 17th-ranked American has been wildly up and down in 2024; he did well to reach the U.S. Open semifinals but is just 3-5 in his last eight matches heading into this week. With Mpetshi Perricard red hot and playing at home in France, the wild-card entry should be able to continue his winning streak.
Pick: Mpetshi Perricard in 3
Arthur Fils vs. (PR) Marin Cilic
It will be a showdown between two recent ATP champions when Fils and Cilic face each other for the first time. Fils triumphed at the ATP 500 in Tokyo last month, that on the heels of a 500-point title on the red clay of Hamburg this summer. The 20th-ranked Frenchman extended his ATP 500 winning streak to 13 matches last week in Basel before falling to Ben Shelton in the semis.
Cilic’s comeback to tennis saw him lift the Hangzhou trophy from pretty much out of nowhere. The 36-year-old Croat has played sparingly in recent seasons due to a knee injury, but his Hangzhou trophy proved that he remains dangerous on any given day. Unfortunately for Cilic, he has lost three matches in a row since that success and now runs into an in-form opponent on his own turf in France.
Pick: Fils in 2
WWW?
Giovanni in 3
Fils in 2
Tiafoe in 3; Fils in 2.
Expected Tiafoe to win that. Must be disappointed.
GMP is the real deal
GMP should have been favored for sure
Im not sure about that. Tiafoe’s potential level is high and wouldve been motivated to win that on the back of GMP’s victory over Shelton.
That’s why I was saying GMP real the deal because unless youre good, you dont win those matches on the backup like that.
He obviously saw that coming before the Shelton match and stepped up to the challenge twice. Impressive.
Based on your numbers, for sure.
On home soil, as well. Bookies expected Tiafoe to bring his absolute best for that match and GMP would be slightly fatigued and caught unsuspecting.
I thought Tiafoe was up a set and a break.