Carlos Alcaraz’s stunning opening-round loss at the Rolex Paris Masters on Tuesday had wider consequences than simply his elimination from the season’s final ATP Masters 1000 event. With the defeat, the Spaniard’s chances of earning a second consecutive ATP Year-End No. 1 presented by Pepperstone honour dropped significantly.

Six-time Paris champion Novak Djokovic now has an opportunity to press his advantage this week. The Serbian leads the Spaniard by 500 points in the Pepperstone ATP Live Race To Turin and could extend his lead to 1,495 points by lifting the trophy in Bercy. The Live Race serves as a barometer for the year-end No. 1 battle.

A gap that wide would nearly put the battle out of reach for Alcaraz with only one more week in the regular season (he has not entered the ATP 250 events in Metz or Sofia, but could accept a wild card) and then the Nitto ATP Finals, where a maximum of 1,500 points are up for grabs.

Pepperstone ATP Live Race To Turin (31 October)

Should Djokovic emerge victorious at the Rolex Paris Masters for the seventh time, he would be on the verge of extending his record of year-end No. 1 finishes to eight. The 36-year-old last accomplished the feat in 2021.

But if Djokovic suffers an early defeat, Alcaraz, who last year became the youngest ATP Year-End No. 1 presented by Pepperstone, would still have a chance to put pressure on his rival in Turin, home of the Nitto ATP Finals. Third-placed Daniil Medvedev is also still alive in the chase for year-end No. 1, although he is currently 1,755 points behind Djokovic in the Live Race.

Djokovic this week is competing for the first time since Davis Cup the week after he won the US Open. That time off provided Alcaraz an opportunity to make a move in the Live Race, but he has gone 5-3, losing in the semi-finals in Beijing, Round of 16 in Shanghai and the second round in Paris.

Djokovic will play Argentine Tomas Martin Etcheverry on Wednesday with the winner to play Dutchman Tallon Griekspoor for a place in the Paris quarter-finals.

Carlos Alcaraz had few complaints about how he struck the ball during his surprise opening-round loss to Roman Safiullin at the Rolex Paris Masters on Tuesday night. But his movement?That’s another story.

“I just didn’t feel well on the court,” the World No. 2 said. “A lot of things to improve, a lot of things to practise. I didn’t move well. In the shots, I think I had a good quality of shots. But physically in the part of movement, I have to improve a lot.”

Alcaraz, who was forced to pull out of Basel due to problems with his left foot and lower back, was competing for the first time since his defeat to Grigor Dimitrov 20 days ago in the Shanghai last 16.

Alcaraz’s let slip an early break of serve in both sets during his 6-3, 6-4 defeat to the World No. 45 in their first Lexus ATP Head2Head meeting. But having seen Safiullin’s dramatic rise from outside the Top 100 of the Pepperstone ATP Rankings since early May, the Spaniard said that he expected a tough fight against the Wimbledon quarter-finalist.

“He didn’t surprise me at all, because I knew that he has been playing a great level these last few months, beating big guys, reaching finals. I knew that he was going to play a high level,” he said.

Alcaraz slipped to 63-10 on the year, a match record that is still better than his 57-13 season that saw him finish last year as the ATP Year-End No. 1 presented by Pepperstone. He has won six titles across all three surfaces, including Wimbledon and ATP Masters 1000 titles in Indian Wells and Madrid.

The 20-year-old is next scheduled to play at the Nitto ATP Finals (12-19 November), where he will make his debut after missing last year’s event in Turin due to injury. He has almost two weeks to retool his game and find his movement working with coach Juan Carlos Ferrero.

“I have time before the ATP Finals, a lot of days of practice to be able to reach that level, the level that I want to play,” he said. “Honestly after the loss, I have to take some time before thinking about the next days… But obviously before the ATP Finals begin, we have time.”

Roman Safiullin earned the biggest win of his career year by stunning Carlos Alcaraz on Tuesday evening at the Rolex Paris Masters. The qualifier recovered an early break in both sets of a shock 6-3, 6-4 victory, dealing Alcaraz his first opening-round loss of 2023.

Safiullin is up to No. 39 in the Pepperstone ATP Live Rankings with the victory, setting himself up to break into the Top 40 for the first time. The 26-year-old’s upset win against Alcaraz follows breakthrough runs to the Wimbledon quarter-finals and the Chengdu final in recent months.

“Since qualies, I was not playing at this level but against Carlos and these Top 10, Top 20 guys, you have to lift up the level,” Safiullin said post-match. “I managed to do it.

“For Carlos, it was not his best performance, but still I’m happy that I can win… Even if he’s not in the best shape it’s tough to beat him. So I’m really happy that I made it.”

Alcaraz, who was forced to pull out of Basel due to problems with his left foot and lower back, was competing for the first time since his defeat to Grigor Dimitrov 20 days ago in the Shanghai last 16. The defeat deals a heavy blow to his bid to finish the season atop the Pepperstone ATP Rankings for the second straight year; he remains 500 points behind world No. 1 Novak Djokovic in the Pepperstone ATP Live Race To Turin, with the Serbian set to open his Paris campaign on Wednesday.

Following a first-round bye in Paris, Alcaraz started brightly in both sets but was pegged back by the steadier play of Safiullin. The qualifier was aided by 27 unforced error count from the Spaniard, though he played his part in Alcaraz’s miscues by defending well in the corners, particularly at the critical moments.

Playing in a nondescript white shirt devoid of any sponsor patches, the workmanlike Safiullin converted four of eight break chances in the match — two in each set — while saving two of four break points against Alcaraz, one of tennis’ biggest superstars. In addition to his solid baseline play, centred on his commanding forehand, Safiullin also won 10 of 12 points from the net.

Safiullin with the biggest win of his career over Alcaraz‼️

And another outstanding Forehand #ShotQuality performance 💥🎾#TennisInsights | @ATPTour | @RolexPMasters pic.twitter.com/smqvDTiOm8

— Tennis Insights (@tennis_insights) October 31, 2023

He improved to 3-6 against the Top 10 with the victory, backing up his win against Alexander Zverev in Shanghai. Safiullin has now reached the third round at four of the past five ATP Masters 1000s (also Madrid, Rome, Shanghai).

“Everything against these guys [is important]. Tactical, physical, the mental part is very important,” Safiullin said of his success against the ATP Tour’s best. “[It’s key] to stay focussed from the beginning to the end… Who can make it longer is going to be the winner.”

Alcaraz had not lost his opening match at a Masters 1000 since a three-set defeat to Tommy Paul last year in Montreal. The Spaniard had won nine openers in a row at that prestigious level prior to his Tuesday defeat.

Dominic Thiem views food as more than just a meal, the Austrian explained in the latest edition of ATP Uncovered’s What I Eat series.

“Food is obviously something very important. It’s like which fuel you put in the car,” Thiem said. “It’s the same with the food and your body. It’s so important. It gets you going or it can also slow you down.”

When the former World No. 3 was younger, he “didn’t care so much” about what he ate. But his mindset regarding nutrition has changed.

“The past five to 10 years, I got more and more aware of it,” Thiem said. “And now I try to eat healthy, to eat conscious and to have a good relationship with food.”

In the feature, Thiem discussed what he likes to eat for breakfast, lunch and dinner, as well as how things change before and after matches. The 30-year-old says one food in particular is “almost magic”.

Wonder which? Find out by watching the full ATP Uncovered feature below.

Novak Djokovic will begin his chase for a record-extending seventh title at the Rolex Paris Masters when he competes on Wednesday. Before focusing on singles, though, the Serbian took to court on Tuesday in doubles, teaming with countryman Miomir Kecmanovic to reach the second round.

Djokovic and Kecmanovic swept past Gonzalo Escobar and Aleksandr Nedovyesov 6-4, 6-2 in 68 minutes at the ATP Masters 100 event.

The Serbians won 67 per cent (12/18) of points on Escobar and Nedovyesov’s second serves, breaking four times to set a second-round meeting against third seeds Rohan Bopanna and Matthew Ebden.

Djokovic will face Tomas Martin Etcheverry in his opening singles match on Wednesday. The 36-year-old is aiming for another deep run in Paris to boost his ATP Year-End No. 1 presented by Pepperstone chances. The Serbian leads Carlos Alcaraz by 500 points in the Pepperstone ATP Live Race To Turin, which serves as a barometer for the year-end World No. 1 battle.

Second serves to the forehand.

Players typically stay away from this higher-risk strategy and kick the second serve to the less potent backhand return.

Not Novak Djokovic. Not by a long shot.

An Infosys ATP Beyond The Numbers analysis of 41 matches against right-handed opponents this season shows that Djokovic actually prefers to hit second serves to the forehand wing. By going against the grain, he collects more second-serve aces, extracts significantly more return errors and wins a higher percentage of second-serve points overall.

Opponents are sitting on a heavy kick to the backhand return. A hard slider to the forehand is what comes at them more often than not. Djokovic hit 55 per cent (382/690) of his second serves at the forehand corners versus backhand corners in both service boxes, while opponents only hit 26 per cent (164/622) to the forehand corners against him. Interestingly, Djokovic served more to the backhand return against left-handers.

Djokovic is leading the Tour in 2023 with second-serve points won at 57.91 per cent (816/1409). It’s his third-highest season total after 2015 (60.2%) and 2013 (59.61%). Directing second serves out wide in the Deuce court and down the T in the Ad court is powering these Tour-leading match metrics as much as anything else.

Deuce Court: Second Serves Wide To The Forehand Return
The numbers that show the difference in how well Djokovic utilises the wide second serve compared to his opponents are dramatic.

Second Serves: Deuce Court Wide

The performance gap is staggering. Djokovic goes to this location almost three times as much as his opponents (174-60) and has won 100 more points (130-30). He extracts an error when targeting this location 29 per cent (50/174) of the time. His opponents only benefit from a return error 18 per cent (11/60) of the time.

One of Djokovic’s superpowers appears hidden in plain sight.

Ad Court: Second Serves T To The Forehand Return
Serving second serves down the T in the Ad court also clearly catches opponents off guard.

Djokovic collected 13 aces to this specific location, while opponents only managed a solitary ace. Djokovic won precisely 100 more points (130-30) than his opponents in the Deuce court out wide and won almost 100 more (146-52) with the slider down the T in the Ad court.

At some stage, you would think opponents should pick up on this surprise serve and shut it down. But Djokovic has been employing variations of this strategy for several seasons, and he keeps taking it to new levels. The reasons why it works so well are four-fold.

1. Djokovic wins the mental game of surprising his opponent. He reads the opponent’s mind better than they do of him. He knows when they are not expecting it.
2. The larger size of the forehand return backswing can be immediately attacked.
3. He hits this specific serve considerably faster than his regular kick second serve to the backhand. Multiple speeds to multiple directions create confusion in opponents’ minds.
4. He receives more Serve +1 forehands. He hit 50 per cent (473/945) Serve +1 forehands in these matches behind second serves, winning 57 per cent (271/473). Opponents only hit 44 per cent (514/1171) Serve +1 forehands, also winning just 44 per cent (227/514).

Djokovic’s favourite second-serve location appears to be a mystery to his opponents. He backs himself against their perceived strength by taking advantage of multiple weaknesses.

Taylor Fritz withdrew from the Rolex Paris Masters on Tuesday due to an abdominal strain. The withdrawal puts his hopes of qualifying for the Nitto ATP Finals in jeopardy.

The American, who was not scheduled to play Tuesday, advanced to the second round on Monday with a straight-sets win over Sebastian Baez, but received treatment during the second set on his abdominal region.

“It’s something that’s been bothering me for a little bit… I didn’t think it was anything too bad going in [to this match], but one where I slid out and sliced that forehand, I felt like I did something that I had never done to it before,” Fritz said after the match. “Like maybe I tore something or pulled it. So I’m going to have to get it checked out and see what’s going on.”

Fritz trails eighth-placed Holger Rune by 190 points in the Pepperstone ATP Live Race To Turin. The American is still entered in next week’s Sofia Open, where if he recovers physically and wins the title, he could earn 250 points. However, if Rune defeats Dominic Thiem in the Paris second round, Fritz will be eliminated from Turin contention.

The player Fritz was set to face next, Daniel Altmaier, won his first-round match against Arthur Fils earlier Tuesday. The German will play the winner of Rune and Thiem in the third round.

Novak Djokovic is returning to action this week at the Rolex Paris Masters, but first he took advantage of cool opportunities off the court in Paris.

On Monday evening, the Serbian presented the Women’s Ballon d’Or award to Spaniard Aitana Bonmati.

Novak Djokovic” />
^{Photo Credit: AFP/Getty Images}
Djokovic enjoyed the evening and even caught up with David Beckham, who is the co-owner of Inter Miami, the club for which Men’s Ballon d’Or winner Lionel Messi plays.

Before taking to the football spotlight, Djokovic enjoyed the final of the Rugby World Cup between South Africa and New Zealand.

On Tuesday, the 36-year-old will take to the doubles court alongside countryman Miomir Kecmanovic against Gonzalo Escobar and Aleksandr Nedovyesov. He will open his singles event against Argentine Tomas Martin Etcheverry.