Paris Masters 2023: Zverev and Hurkacz advance to stay in hunt for ATP Finals spots

Alexander Zverev and Hubert Hurkacz stayed in contention for the three remaining spots at the ATP Finals by advancing to the second round of the Paris Masters on Tuesday.

Alexander Zverev of Germany in action. | Photo Credit: Getty Images

Alexander Zverev and Hubert Hurkacz stayed in contention for the three remaining spots at the ATP Finals by advancing to the second round of the Paris Masters on Tuesday.

The 10th-seeded Zverev rallied past qualifier Marton Fucsovics 4-6, 7-5, 6-4, while Hurkacz overcame Sebastian Korda 6-3, 6-7 (6), 6-3.

“It was definitely a rollercoaster,” the 11th-seeded Hurkacz said on court. “I tried to reset, I tried to bring all my energy into the third set. I knew how important is this match for me, and I just gave it absolutely all I had out there.”

Before the Paris Masters, Novak Djokovic, Carlos Alcaraz, Daniil Medvedev, Jannik Sinner and Andrey Rublev had already qualified for the ATP Finals, the season-ending tournament for the top eight players on tour that will be played in Turin from Nov. 12-19.

READ | ITF will encourage Nadal to compete at 2024 Paris Olympic Games, says chief

Hurkacz jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the opening set. The Shanghai Masters champion then hit an overhead shot to break Korda in the seventh game of the second set but failed to serve out the match at 5-4. Korda saved three break points at 5-5 to force a tiebreaker.

An emotional Hurkacz threw his racket to the ground after missing those opportunities, and then squandered a match point at 6-5 in the tiebreaker with a forehand that sailed long. Korda won the second set after another forehand error from Hurkacz.

In the decisive set, Korda netted a backhand to give Hurkacz a 5-3 lead. Hurkacz converted his second match point with an ace, finishing the match with 36 winners to 30 for Korda.

Zverev, the 2020 runner-up at the Paris tournament, double-faulted to drop the opening set. But the German hit a smash winner to break for a 6-5 lead in the second set and leveled the match when Fucsovics sent a forehand into the net. Zverev then won the last three games, clinching the victory with a service winner.

In other first-round matches, lucky loser Dusan Lajovic beat wild-card entry Benjamin Bonzi 7-5, 6-3 while Tomas Martin Etcheverry outlasted Miomir Kecmanovic 4-6, 7-6 (6), 6-4 to set up a meeting with top-seeded Novak Djokovic.