Andre Agassi & Coco Gauff's ex-coach Brad Gilbert proposes radical change for tournament draws after Jannik Sinner's sudden Paris Masters withdrawal
Jannik Sinner's unexpected 2024 Rolex Paris Masters withdrawal has prompted Andre Agassi and Coco Gauff's former coach Brad Gilbert to come up with an idea for tournaments to resolve such situations without disturbing the balance of the main draw. Sinner, the reigning World No. 1, pulled out from the ATP Masters 1000 event citing a gastrointestinal virus.
Sinner, also the reigning Australian Open and US Open champion, had arrived in Paris and looked all set to begin his campaign as the top seed. However, on Tuesday, Oct. 29, the Italian confirmed that he is not at his physical best due to a gastrointestinal viral infection, and as a result, can't compete in the season's final Masters 1000 event.
Shortly after the development, Brad Gilbert, formerly the coach of the legendary Andre Agassi and current WTA World No. 3 Coco Gauff, took to X and shared a rather radical idea. According to Gilbert, in such situations, the Lucky Loser (LL) should be made to progress to tournaments' second rounds, and the LL's first-round spot should be assigned to a player seeded between ninth and 16th.
Gilbert believes that if such an idea were to become a reality, it would bring better balance to ATP Tour-level tournament main draws. He wrote:
"Draw change I would definitely like to see on @atptour when a top seed pulls out, even after draw started, in this case Sin City allowing LL to move into 2nd rd, I would put a 9-16 seed into that 1st spot who had not played yet, better balance for the draw @SharkoTennis".
Sinner, who has already secured the year-end No. 1 ranking for himself, will now turn his attention to the Nitto ATP Finals in Turin. Meanwhile, prominent tennis insider Guido Monaco has claimed that the Italian is more prone to such ailments in comparison to his ATP rivals.
"Not to spend the holidays" - Tennis insider claps back at Jannik Sinner's critics after Italian's Paris Masters 2024 withdrawal
Jannik Sinner pulling out from the 2024 Rolex Paris Masters led to several fans feeling suspicious about the development. Overall, there has been greater scrutiny on Sinner since word broke ahead ot this year's US Open that he had twice tested positive for a banned substance earlier in the season.
Tennis insider Guido Monaco though, hit out at critics and opined that Sinner tends to develop ailments and illnesses more frequently than his rivals. The World No. 1 had previously withdrawn from the 2024 Paris Olympics as well. On that occasion, the Italian had cited tonsilitis as the ailment behind his withdrawal. Speaking to OA Sport, Monaco said:
"We hope nothing serious. Let's take Bercy last year, this year's Paris that we know how it arrived, the Olympics... this year Paris is not to spend the holidays there. We understood that Sinner compared to his other competitors is a little more fragile with respect to these ailments".
Sinner has an astonishing 65-6 win-loss record this season, having won two Major titles, two ATP 500-level tournaments, and three ATP Masters 1000 events.