After surviving a dramatic semifinal on Saturday against Stefanos Tsitsipas, decided by a third-set tiebreak, Novak Djokovic goes for his third title in Bercy in as many appearances. He has now won 30 of his last 32 matches, and is currently on a 13-match win streak. On Sunday, Djokovic faces Holger Rune in the 19-year-old’s first Masters 1000 final. Rune has now claimed 18 of his last 20 matches, and would become the first alternate for the ATP Finals with a win on Sunday.
In Fort Worth, it’s semifinal Sunday. World No.1 Iga Swiatek faces Aryna Sabalenka for the fifth time this season, while Maria Sakkari and Caroline Garcia play to reach the biggest final of their career.
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. Sunday’s play in Paris begins at 12:30pm local time with the doubles final, while play in Fort Worth begins at 1:30pm local time.
Holger Rune vs. Novak Djokovic (6) – Not Before 3:00pm on Court Central in Paris
Rune soundly defeated Felix Auger-Aliassime in straight sets on Saturday, ending Felix’s 16-match win streak. Holger started the year ranked outside the top 100, but will become either the World No.12 or World No.10 on Monday, depending upon Sunday’s result. He is 38-24 at ATP-level this season, with two titles (Munich, Stockholm), and achieved his first Major quarterfinal in this same city. Rune has defeated four consecutive top 10 opponents this week (Hurkacz, Rublev, Alcaraz, Auger-Aliassime), and is 6-1 against the top 10 this fall. And in those last four matches, Holger hasn’t been broken.
His only previous encounter with Djokovic, at last year’s US Open, is when Rune first made the tennis world take notice of him. In the opening round, he took the first set off Novak 6-1, before succumbing in four. While his aggressive style gives him a chance to win on Sunday on these fast courts, Djokovic remains the favorite. After missing many of 2022’s biggest events due to his vaccination status, Novak is a man on a mission. And with a career record of 45-8 in Bercy, Djokovic will likely win his seventh Paris Masters title.
Iga Swiatek (1) vs. Aryna Sabalenka (7)
Swiatek went undefeated during round-robin play, not dropping a set, while Sabalenka went 2-1. And Swiatek has claimed all four of their 2022 meetings. The first three were extremely straightforward, as were many of Iga’s victories this year. But in the US Open semifinals, Sabalenka claimed the first set before losing 6-4 in the third. Aryna has now lost all three of her Major semifinals by that same score: 6-4 in the third. A win on Sunday would be the biggest semifinal win of her career. Their only non-2022 matchup occurred at this same event a year ago, when Sabalenka prevailed 7-5 in the third during round-robin play. But based on Iga’s current form, and her superior performances in big matches, the Polish top seed is the favorite to advance to Monday’s championship match.
Other Notable Matches on Sunday:
Ivan Dodig and Austin Krajicek (8) vs. Wesley Koolhof and Neal Skupski (2) – This is the eighth final of the year for Dodig and Krajicek, as they vie for their fourth title of 2022. This is the 10th final of the year for Koolhof and Skupski, and they’ve already won six. Both teams have qualified for the ATP Finals later this month.
Maria Sakkari (5) vs. Caroline Garcia (6) – Sakkari went 3-0 in round -obin play, not dropping any sets. She also had Saturday off, while Garcia spent her Saturday in a grueling contest against Daria Kasatkina, winning a third-set tiebreak to secure her spot in the semifinals. Caroline is 2-0 against Maria, which includes a hard court match earlier this year in Cincinnati.
Sunday’s full Order of Play at the WTA Finals is here, and the Paris Masters schedule is here.
