Novak Djokovic set to take on Stan Wawrinka and Jannik Sinner in Paris Masters doubles showdown
Novak Djokovic's return to doubles action at the 2023 Paris Masters will be a blocbuster, as he and compatriot Miomir Kecmanovic have been drawn to take on Stan Wawrinka and Jannik Sinner in their tournament opener.
The Serb was last in action at the Davis Cup, where he helped his team enter the knockouts just after winning his record-breaking 24th Grand Slam title at the US Open.
He will return to Paris as the runner-up in singles, having lost to Holger Rune in the final last year. A six-time winner at the Masters 1000 event, Djokovic has decided to team up with Kecmanovic for doubles in what will be his final outing on tour before the season-ending ATP Finals.
The winner of the clash between Sinner/Wawrinka and the all-Serbian duo will take on third seeds Matthew Ebden and Rohan Bopanna in the second round, with a potential semifinal clash with top seeds Ivan Dodig and Austin Krajicek looming ahead.
Meanwhile, in singles action, top seed Novak Djokovic could face his partner in the second round. Kecmanovic will open his campaign against Tomas Martin Etcheverry in Paris, with the winner taking on the 36-year-old in the next round.
Wawrinka, on the other hand, takes on Matteo Arnaldi in his opener, while fourth seed Jannik Sinner will play against either Mackenzie McDonald or a qualifier in the second round to kickstart his campaign.
Novak Djokovic could end the 2023 season as the World No. 1
Novak Djokovic has a great chance of ending the 2023 season as the World No. 1, for which he is currently fighting with World No. 2 Carlos Alcaraz. Alcaraz recently withdrew from the Swiss Indoors Basel due to injury, but assured fans that he has recovered enough to play at the Paris Masters and the ATP Finals.
Djokovic is defending a total of 2,100 points in the remaining two tournaments, while the Spaniard only has 180 ranking points to defend. After removing them, the gap between the duo comes down to just 500 points.
What that means is that for the 24-time Grand Slam champion to become World No. 1 at the end of the year, he just has to get more points that Alcaraz in Paris and Turin. Considering that the reigning Wimbledon champion will be coming back after an injury while the Serb is fully fit and rested, the odds are certainly in favor of the 37-year-old veteran.