The Paris-Bercy Masters 1000 is one of the biggest events of the final stage of the tennis year. In the past, some tennis players used to skip this tournament in order to rest and prepare for the ATP Finals (perhaps if they were already qualified), but now the Paris tournament will see everyone in the spotlight, a tournament which has nothing to envy to the four Grand Slam tournaments.
It will be the first Masters 1000 in history with Carlos Alcaraz as number one in the world. The Spanish phenomenon will have to defend against the double assault of Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal. The Serb is the defending champion and will want to show everyone that, despite a peculiar year, he is still number one.
In fact, it must be said and remembered several times that “Nole” has not been able to defend the title of number one in the world, the Serbian won Wimbledon without points and did not participate in the Australian and United States Opens, a situation that in fact has forced him to relegate to the back of the world Top Ten.
Nadal, barring special family situations, should be at the event with the goal of trying to win one of the few tournaments he has never won. Number three after the two Spaniards is Casper Ruud: the Norwegian showed once again in New York that he can compete on any surface.
Behind last year’s finalist Daniil Medvedev, while Alexander Zverev is also on the entry list. The German has been out of action for some time due to injury, but he seems to be getting closer to a comeback.
Nadal won two Slams in 2022
Making a first assessment of the 2022 season of his nephew Rafael Nadal, although the latter must still participate in two tournaments by the end of the season (Paris-Bercy and the Masters), Toni Nadal estimated in an interview granted to Marca that the year had been complicated despite the two Grand Slam titles won by the Mallorcan.
“I spoke to him today (Tuesday) and he is fine now. It is true that he had a complicated year. This season could have been extraordinary, but it was marred by the constant problems he faced. The results were good as he won Australia and Roland Garros, but you leave with a bitter taste in your mouth.
At Wimbledon he was unable to play a semi-final despite playing well and being an obvious title contender, he also had problems in New York. What an athlete wants above all is to be well and play well, and also to win. My nephew won, but he had more problems than you can bear sometimes.”
