Semi-finals: Plenty to savour
Thrilling semi-finals packed with uncertainty, plus the first trophy of the week to be handed out under the evening lights: here’s everything to look forward to on Saturday 7 November at the Plenitude Arena.
Centre Court: singles, doubles and everything in between
With the finish line now in sight, and hopes high that the closing chapter will live up to the spectacular tennis served up over the past eight days, four players remain in contention for the biggest title of their careers. As the Rolex Paris Masters celebrates its 40th anniversary, the stage is perfectly set for a first-time champion to emerge.
France’s last remaining hope, Luca Van Assche, will be aiming for the biggest win of his week when he takes on third seed Ben Shelton from 2:30pm. Fresh from yet another marathon triumph against Rinky Hijikata, the Frenchman knows he will need to raise his level even further.
"I had a good game plan today, but my level dropped at certain moments. I’ll have to do better tomorrow if I want to trouble him," he admitted after his latest hard-fought victory.
Having arrived in Paris without a single main-draw win at the tournament to his name, the home favourite has already exceeded expectations. Against the reigning US Open finalist, he will have nothing to lose and is likely to enjoy the backing of a large share of the 17,500 spectators expected inside centre court.
While Van Assche and Shelton have never faced before, the second semi-final pits together two players who know each other extremely well. Carlos Alcaraz and Casper Ruud have already met seven times on Tour, and the Spaniard holds a commanding edge in the rivalry.
By rediscovering both his smile and his devastating forehand while staring defeat in the face against Taylor Fritz, second seed Alcaraz produced one of his finest Paris performances to date and sent a clear warning to the rest of the field.
Standing in his way on Saturday, not before 5pm, will be Ruud, who has suffered six defeats against the Spaniard, including in some of the sport’s biggest matches: the 2022 US Open final, the Miami final and the Tokyo semi-finals last season among them. Yet the former world No.2 has looked every bit a contender this week.
"Carlos is incredibly fun to watch, but I’m feeling good. I haven’t spent too many hours on court and I’ll do everything I can to recover as well as possible," the Norwegian warned.
Having both broken through their Rolex Paris Masters ceiling this week, Alcaraz and Ruud will walk onto centre court intent on taking their Paris adventure one step further.
The two singles semi-finals are part of a stacked schedule. Opening play at noon, Austria’s Lucas Miedler and Neil Oberleitner will look to extend their remarkable run of form, having won 15 of their last 16 matches, when they take on second seeds Neal Skupski and Christian Harrison.
Then, in the final match of the day, French duo Quentin Halys and Pierre-Hugues Herbert face the toughest challenge in doubles as they meet reigning champions and world No.1 pair Harri Heliovaara and Henry Patten.
Court 2: friendship put aside
After an opening day in which the favourites safely negotiated the quarter-finals, Court 2 will host a wheelchair tennis line-up worthy of a final.
From 11:30am, friends, compatriots and long-time doubles partners Alfie Hewett and Gordon Reid will renew their rivalry in a rematch of last year’s outstanding final.
"It’s going to be a great match. We’ve played each other so many times in singles and it usually produces a very high standard of tennis. We actually faced each other last week in Vienna, so I know it’s going to be tough and I’m really looking forward to it. It’s never easy playing against your doubles partner, but I can’t wait for the battle," said the defending champion.
Hewett will be hoping to reach another final, while Reid could find himself at the centre of an emotional day. Later in the afternoon, from 4pm, the Scot will contest the doubles final alongside Gustavo Fernandez, who arrives in excellent form after an impressive end to the season.
The British-Argentinian pairing will face Martin De La Puente and Tom Egberink for the title. Whatever the outcome, there will be an added layer of intrigue, as Fernandez and De La Puente will already have gone head-to-head a few hours earlier in the second singles semi-final.