Tuesday’s singles play in Fort Worth sees World No.1 Iga Swiatek face Daria Kasatkina, who is making her debut at this event. Another debutante, Coco Gauff, will play Caroline Garcia, who returns to the WTA Finals for the first time since 2017.
In Paris, defending champion Novak Djokovic makes his 2022 debut at an event he’s won six times, against serve-and-volleying American Maxime Cressy, who was born in Paris. Another multi-time Major champ, Stan Wawrinka, takes on Next Gen standout Holger Rune, who is nearly half his age. And Andrey Rublev and Hubert Hurkacz both play on Tuesday, as they aim to earn a spot in the ATP Finals later this month in Turin.
Each day, this preview will analyze the most intriguing matchup from both the WTA Finals and the ATP Paris Masters, while highlighting the other matches on the schedules. Tuesday’s play in Paris begins at 11:00am local time, while play in Fort Worth begins at 3:00pm local time.
Novak Djokovic (6) vs. Maxime Cressy – Fourth on Court Central in Paris
After missing the entire summer hard court season, the unvaccinated Djokovic returned at Laver Cup. Despite going 1-1 in singles at that event, he promptly won back-to-back titles in Tel Aviv and Astana. In Astana, he defeated both Stefanos Tsitsipas and Daniil Medvedev. Cressy had a great start to the year, reaching the final of an Australian Open tune-up event, and the second week at the season’s first Slam itself. He also gained success on grass, winning titles in both Eastbourne and Newport, and upsetting Felix Auger-Aliassime at Wimbledon. His attacking style is often rewarded on fast surfaces, and the courts in Bercy are some of the fastest on tour. But in his first meeting against the 21-time Major champ, it would be surprising if Maxime pulls off the upset.
Iga Swiatek (1) vs. Daria Kasatkina (8) – Not Before 5:00pm local time in Fort Worth
Swiatek is a stellar 64-8 on the year, with eight titles, two of which were Majors (Roland Garros, US Open). A year ago, she failed to advance out of the round robin stage of this event, going 1-2. Kasatkina has compiled a record of 40-20, with two titles. And she advanced to her first Slam semifinal at Roland Garros. But in that semi, she was dominated by Iga 6-2, 6-1. Overall Swiatek is 4-1 against Kasatkina, with all four victories coming in straight sets this season. Across those eight sets contested within 2022, Daria has managed only a total of 12 games. With three of those matches taking place on hard courts, there’s not much evidence to suggest a different outcome in this lopsided rivalry on Tuesday.
Other Notable Matches on Tuesday:
John Isner vs. Andrey Rublev (7) – Rublev currently sits in the eighth and final qualifying spot for Turin, with Taylor Fritz and Hubert Hurkacz needing to at least make the final to have a chance of surpassing him. Isner is a former runner-up at this event, and is 3-0 against Andrey, which includes two matches on hard courts.
Hubert Hurkacz (10) vs. Adriann Mannarino (WC) – Hurkacz is now 40-20 on the year, but losses in the quarterfinals of three tournaments in October hurt his qualifying chances for Turin. Mannarino is only 8-11 lifetime at this event in his home country, but he did take out Hurkacz in straight sets at this year’s Australian Open.
Holger Rune vs. Stan Wawrinka (PR) – Rune has claimed 13 of his last 15 matches, reaching three consecutive finals, and winning the title over Stefanos Tsistipas in Stockholm. Wawrinka was a quarterfinalist last week in Basel, where he upset US Open finalist Casper Ruud.
Coco Gauff (4) vs. Caroline Garcia (6) – Gauff is 38-19 in 2022, though her only appearance in a final was her straight-set loss at Roland Garros to Swiatek. Garcia started the year ranked 74th in the world, but is 41-19 on the season, with three titles on three different surfaces, and achieved her first Major semifinal in New York. Gauff leads their head-to-head 2-1, though Caroline took out Coco in the US Open quarterfinals.
Tuesday’s full Order of Play at the WTA Finals is here, and the Paris Masters schedule is here.
