TennisSection previews the 2021 Paris Masters as Hubert Hurkacz takes on Tommy Paul in the Round of 32 on Wednesday, November 3rd, 2021.
Will Hubert Hurkacz win and boost his chances of qualifying for the ATP Finals? Or will Tommy Paul put the cat amongst the pigeons? This second-round match at the 2021 Paris Masters will not be a respite for Poland’s top-ranked player.
Hubert Hurkacz won his first Masters 1000 title earlier this year at the Miami Open. That success elevated his status as a prominent athlete in Poland. He would go on to tick even bigger milestones. At Wimbledon, he became the first Polish man in eight years to reach the semifinal in singles, besting Daniil Medvedev and Roger Federer in succession. Hurkacz did have intermittent periods of poor form, but when his game is on, he is tough to beat. He won his fourth career title under the roof in Metz towards the end of September. He did not drop a set during his stay in northeastern France. Hurkacz’s last outing resulted in a three-set defeat to Andy Murray in Vienna. He has momentarily lost his place among the Top 8 players in the ATP Race, and needs a productive week at the Paris Masters to regain it.
Tommy Paul continues to perform very well during the close end of this season. The main objective will be to re-enter the Top 50 and build on that during the first half of next season. Paul’s low ranking has not been sufficient to get him into the main draw of the biggest tournaments. Case in point is the 2021 Paris Masters where he needed to scale two rounds of qualifying to reach the main draw. There, he took out Jan-Lennard Struff in straight sets in the first round. Paul was terrific in neutralizing the German’s firepower with his varied style of dictating the rallies. And he has conserved plenty of energy for a much tougher test that awaits him against Hubert Hurkacz.
Hubert Hurkacz and Tommy have not met each other at tour level. Although they did play a couple of exhibition matches during tennis’ hiatus last season. Hurkacz might feel a little apprehensive knowing that he cannot afford to put a foot wrong at the 2021 Paris Masters. Paul is living on a reputation of being a ticklish competitor. Having registered big wins over the likes of Andrey Rublev and Cameron Norrie, he has real belief that he can outsmart the very best in the world. But this will be a step too far for Paul. Hurkacz is inconsistent occasionally, but he should have enough tools at his disposal to see off the American.
Free Tennis Pick and Prediction: Hubert Hurkacz to win in two tight sets.
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