Paris draw lays down gauntlet for Sinner, with Shelton & Rune looming

The Rolex Paris Masters draw did no favours for top seed Jannik Sinner, who could open his campaign against the surging Ben Shelton before meeting 2022 champ Holger Rune. The No. 1 in the PIF ATP Rankings would face Shelton if the Basel semi-finalist survives a brutal opener against Felix Auger-Aliassime, with the 13th-seeded Rune a potential opponent in the last 16.

Having clinched ATP Year-End No. 1 presented by PIF honours earlier this month, Sinner will bid to add to his tour-leading seven titles and his three ATP Masters 1000 crowns in 2024. A potential sixth Lexus ATP Head2Head meeting with Shelton would be a rematch of their Shanghai showdown two weeks ago, which Sinner won en route to the title. Sinner has not competed on the ATP Tour since then, while Shelton upset Andrey Rublev Friday in Basel to reach the semis at the ATP 500.

Rune, who opens against Matteo Arnaldi, could await Sinner beyond that. The Dane seeks to repeat his breakthrough run to the 2022 Paris title, when he saved match points against Stan Wawrinka in the opening round before knocking off five Top 10 opponents in succession. A fearless Rune won a three-set final that year against Novak Djokovic, who won his seventh Paris title in 2023 but withdrew from this year's event.

Fifth seed Taylor Fritz is also in Sinner's top quarter, while third seed Alexander Zverev and sixth seed Rublev headline the second quarter. Carlos Alcaraz anchors the bottom half of the draw as the second seed, joined by seventh seed Casper Ruud in his quarter, while fourth seed Daniil Medvedev and eighth seed Grigor Dimitrov are seeded to meet in the quarter-finals of their section.

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With the PIF ATP Race To Turin nearing the finish line, the results from Paris will go a long way to deciding who claims the remaining four places at the Nitto ATP Finals. Sinner, Alcaraz, Zverev and Medvedev have all secured their bids, with Fritz, Djokovic, Ruud and Rublev currently occupying the next four spots.

Alex de Minaur, who will face Mariano Navone as the ninth seed in Paris, leads the chasing pack. The Aussie, seeking his Nitto ATP Finals debut, could pass Rublev this week with the title in Vienna. Also within striking distance of eighth place are Dimitrov, Tommy Paul and Stefanos Tsitsipas. Dimitrov will face Zhang Zhizhen or Tomas Martin Etcheverry after his first-round bye, while Paul opens against French wild card Adrian Mannarino and Tsitsipas will start against a qualifier.

Rublev is clinging onto eighth place in the PIF ATP Race To Turin with 3,720 points, while De Minaur has 3,455 — though the Aussie could reach 3,855 with the Vienna title. Dimitrov (3,150 points) and Paul (3,135 points) must reach at least the final in Paris to pass Rublev's current tally, with 650 PIF ATP Ranking points on offer for the runner-up. Tsitsipas (2,975 points) must claim the title — and the 1,000 points that come with it — to have a chance to break into the top eight.

The final opportunity for players to boost their Turin hopes comes the week after Paris with ATP 250s in Belgrade and Metz.

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