Paris R3 previews and predictions: Del Potro vs. Haase, Dimitrov vs. Isner

Juan Martin Del Potro is two wins away from a potential spot in the World Tour Finals, with Robin Haase standing in his way at the Paris Masters on Thursday. John Isner, who must win the title to qualify for London, is also in third-round action against Grigor Dimitrov.

Robin Haase vs. (13) Juan Martin Del Potro

Del Potro has made an amazing late push for the World Tour Finals and he will try to keep his run going when he takes the court at the Rolex Paris Masters on Thursday. The 17th-ranked Argentine reached the U.S. Open semifinals, the Shanghai semifinals, won the Stockholm title, and finished runner-up to Roger Federer in Basel. He kept himself alive for London by coasting past Joao Sousa 6-2, 6-2 on Wednesday.

Up next for Del Potro on Thursday is a third-round date with Haase, who is 0-3 in the head-to-head series. Del Potro prevailed five years ago at Wimbledon, last fall in Basel, and earlier this season in Miami. The 2009 U.S. Open champion has taken six sets in a row against Haase, including five straight without requiring a tiebreaker. Haase is off to a stellar start this week, having posted victories over Steve Johnson (6-2, 6-1) and Alexander Zverev (3-6, 6-2, 6-2). The 43rd-ranked Dutchman is a mediocre 28-29 this year and had been 2-8 in his last 10 matches prior to arriving in Paris. Asking him to post three consecutive wins and to do so at the expense of one of the tour’s hottest players is likely way too much.

Pick: Del Potro in 2

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(9) John Isner vs. (6) Grigor Dimitrov

Dimitrov and Isner will be squaring off for the third time in their careers and for the third time at a Masters 1000 event when they meet again on Thursday. The head-to-head series stands at 1-1, with Isner getting the job done 7-6(2), 6-2 in Miami two years ago before Dimitrov scored a 7-6(4), 7-6(10) victory on his way to the Cincinnati title this summer. That result is a big reason why the eighth-ranked Bulgarian has already clinched his first-ever appearance at the World Tour Finals. He is 44-18 overall in 2017 with three titles and a 9-3 post-U.S. Open record that includes Wednesday’s 6-4, 6-4 defeat of Richard Gasquet.

Isner finished runner-up to Andy Murray last year in Paris and he must go one step farther this time around in order to snag what would be an improbable spot in London. The 6’10” American has struggled since his tough loss to Dimitrov in Cincinnati, but he managed to outlast a red-hot Diego Schwartzman 7-6(2), 6-7(11), 6-3 in the Paris first round. That two-hour and 34-minute battle will not help Isner on Thursday, and Dimitrov returned serve extremely well when they faced each other this summer.