Novak Djokovic has withdrawn from the Rolex Paris Masters, which takes place this week in the French capital. However, the former World No 1 can still grab a spot in the ATP Finals, even while missing the event after surprising eliminations from other contenders.
Jannik Sinner, Carlos Alcaraz, Alexander Zverev and Daniil Medvedev qualified ahead of the event. Meanwhile, Taylor Fritz has also secured his place after Andrey Rublev lost in Round of 32 to Francisco Cerundolo. Meanwhile, Casper Ruud’s elimination in hands of Australian Jordan Thompson puts his chances in jeopardy.
With Rudd and Rublev’s early eliminations from the tournament, Djokovic, who is currently sixth in the race with 3,910 points, is the big beneficiary, and could still make the tournament. However, there are other players that could surpass him with a good run in Paris.
Alex de Minaur‘s recent semifinal run at the Vienna Open has significantly improved his chances of qualification. He now sits 355 points behind Djokovic and would need to reach another semifinal to edge past him by just five points.
Casper Ruud was eliminated from the Paris Masters (Julian Finney/Getty Images)
Meanwhile, Grigor Dimitrov and Stefanos Tsitsipas retain a slim chance of qualifying, though each would need to win the Paris Masters to overtake Djokovic. On the other hand, there’s a chance that Djokovic competes in the Serbian Open, which could also give him the numbers to enter the final tournament of the season.
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Novak Djokovic is reportedly on vacation
While the Serbian still has a chance to qualify to the ATP Finals, an event he has won seven times, it’s still probable that he chooses not to compete. That would open a spot for another player, especially Tsitsipas.
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According to some reports, Djokovic is on vacation in the Maldives, after he competed in the Six Kings Slam, in which he lost to Jannik Sinner in the semifinals, but won the third place after beating Rafael Nadal, who is retiring next month in the Davis Cup finals.
