Thursday will provide all eight round of 16 matches from the men’s singles draw.
The top two Frenchmen in the world, 26-year-old Ugo Humbert and 20-year-old Arthur Fils, both currently reside in the world’s top 20, thanks to strong 2024 seasons. But on Thursday, each will face one of the top three players in the world. Humbert takes on Carlos Alcaraz, while Fils faces Alexander Zverev.
Humbert and Fils are joined in the round of 16 by three of their fellow countrymen: Arthur Rinderknech, Andrian Mannarino, and Arthur Cazaux. Plus, Thursday’s matches could have an impact on the field for the upcoming ATP Finals. Rinderknech plays Grigor Dimitrov, who needs to reach the final in Bercy for the second consecutive year in order to move into qualifying position. But Alex de Minaur only needs to win on Thursday to surpass Andrey Rublev for the eighth spot in Turin, though the Aussie must overcome a red-hot Jack Draper.
Throughout the tournament, this preview will analyze the day’s most prominent match, while highlighting the other notable matches on the schedule. Thursday’s play gets underway at 11:00am local time.
Alexander Zverev (3) vs. Arthur Fils – Not Before 4:00pm on Court Central
As per the ATP, Zverev is the first player since Rafael Nadal in 2017 to reach the third round or better at all Masters 1000 events within a season. That speaks to Sascha’s consistency throughout the year, as he’s compiled a record of 62-20. However, he hasn’t quite been the same player during the second half of 2024, since losing another heartbreaking Major final in this same city this past June. Zverev has only reached one other final since that time, and he also lost that one in heartbreaking fashion, to the same man he faces on Thursday.
2024 has seen Fils continue to realize his huge potential. He recently debuted inside the top 20, after winning his second ATP title of the year in Tokyo, and reaching a semifinal last week in Basel. Arthur is now 41-25 this season, and won his first two matches this week in straight sets.
They’ve met three times before, and all three of those matches took place in Germany. Zverev prevailed in the first two, but their aforementioned final this past July in Hamburg on clay went to Fils, and it was a contentious affair. The match lasted over three-and-a-half hours, with Arthur outlasting Sascha in a third-set tiebreak, and after the Frenchman saved 21 of 22 break points. Fils was cramping during the third set, leading to him utilizing an underarm serve, to the boos of the German crowd. Zverev claimed Fils showed him “no respect” by doing so, but an underarm is a totally fair play, and frankly this was one of many examples this season of Sascha being a sore loser.
Now they’ll play in Fils’ home country, in front of a Parisian crowd that is not shy about involving themselves in a match. And most in the crowd will be fully familiar with the incident between the two in Hamburg. That could be a deciding factor in propelling Arthur to victory. And with the Frenchman achieving better results this fall than Zverev, I give Fils the slight edge on Thursday.
Other Notable Matches on Thursday:
Alex de Minaur (9) vs. Jack Draper – De Minaur was a semifinalist last week in Vienna, and has not dropped a set through two matches this week in Paris. Draper was the champion in Vienna a week ago, and already earned two impressive victories through two rounds in Paris, over Jiri Lehecka and Taylor Fritz. Alex is 3-1 against Jack, though their most recent meeting went to the Brit, in the quarterfinals of this year’s US Open.
Ugo Humbert (15) vs. Carlos Alcaraz (2) – These players have already met twice this season, with both matches going to Alcaraz. That includes a four-setter in the round of 16 at Wimbledon, and a straight-setter in Davis Cup.
Grigor Dimitrov (8) vs. Arthur Rinderknech – Dimitrov made a thrilling run to the final here a year ago, which included three-set wins over Musetti, Medvedev, Hurkacz, and Tsitsipas. He is 2-0 against Rinderknech, having claimed both matches in straights.
Thursday’s full Order of Play is here.
