Preview & Schedule: Tsonga & Raonic Seek More Paris Success
Jo-Wilfried Tsonga captivated tennis fans with his maiden ATP Masters 1000 crown at the 2008 Rolex Paris Masters and has remained a perennial favourite ever since. The Frenchman looks for more magic at the AccorsHotel Arena as he starts his campaign on Monday against in-form Russian Andrey Rublev.
Both players have enjoyed success indoors this year. Tsonga prevailed on home soil in Montpellier (d. Herbert) and Metz (d. Bedene), while Rublev won his hometown tournament earlier this month in Moscow (d. Mannarino). They’re tied 1-1 in their FedEx ATP Head2Head rivalry, with Rublev winning their most recent clash this year in Marseille.
Canadian Milos Raonic, runner-up in 2014 (l. to Djokovic), seeks to end his season on a high note as he begins against British qualifier Cameron Norrie. A back injury has limited Raonic to three matches since the Coupe Rogers in August, but he's back to full strength and his powerful game makes him a threat against anyone.
Two matches pitting experience against youth also highlight action on Court Central. Marin Cilic, who has reached at least the quarter-finals in his past three appearances at this event, looks to remain unbeaten against Pole Hubert Hurkacz. The 31-year-old leads their FedEx ATP Head2Head series 2-0. Fellow Croatian Borna Coric takes on Spaniard Fernando Verdasco, who has appeared in Paris every year since 2004.
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Other notable matches on Monday include Georgian Nikoloz Basilashvili facing Moldovan Radu Albot for the second time this month. Home favourite Adrian Mannarino closes out the night session against #NextGenATP Norwegian Casper Ruud, who clinched his maiden appearance at this year’s Next Gen ATP Finals in Milan from 5-9 November.
ORDER OF PLAY – MONDAY 28 October 2019
COURT CENTRAL start 11:00 am
Marin Cilic (CRO) vs Hubert Hurkacz (POL)
Borna Coric (CRO) vs Fernando Verdasco (ESP)
[Q] Jeremy Chardy (FRA) vs [Q] Sam Querrey (USA)
Benoit Paire (FRA) vs [LL] Damir Dzumhur (BIH)
Not Before 7:30 pm
[WC] Jo-Wilfried Tsonga (FRA) vs Andrey Rublev (RUS)
[WC] Adrian Mannarino (FRA) vs [Q] Casper Ruud (NOR)
Court 1 start 11:00 am
[WC] Quentin Halys (FRA) / Tristan Lamasine (FRA) vs Jurgen Melzer (AUT) / Edouard Roger-Vasselin (FRA)
[Q] Yoshihito Nishioka (JPN) vs Jan-Lennard Struff (GER)
[Q] Cameron Norrie (GBR) vs Milos Raonic (CAN)
Pablo Cuevas (URU) vs Cristian Garin (CHI)
[1] Juan Sebastian Cabal (COL) / Robert Farah (COL) vs Nikola Mektic (CRO) / Franko Skugor (CRO)
Click here to view the rest of Monday's schedule