Paris Masters 2018: Schedule for October 30, Top matches, Where to watch and more
The ‘Big Three’ of men’s tennis will once again be the cynosure of all eyes as the final ATP Masters 1000 tournament of the 2018 season progresses this week in Paris, France. There’s no doubt that four-time winner Novak Djokovic will command the lion’s share of attention out of the three legends, considering how immaculate his form has been for the past few weeks and how hungry he has looked to dethrone Rafael Nadal from the top spot.
The quest to get his fifth year-end No. 1 ranking begins on Tuesday as he kicks off his Paris Masters campaign against World No. 48 Joao Sousa. With the Portuguese having never managed to take even a set off the Serb in five meetings, the opening round is expected to be a walk in the park for the 14-time Grand Slam champion.
While Djokovic will be the biggest player to watch on Day 2 of the Paris Masters, there are plenty of other exciting matches on offer on the same day. The battle between former champion Jo-Wilfried Tsonga and Milos Raonic has all the ingredients to be an enthralling affair. They have met five times previously and the Canadian holds a slim 3-2 edge over the Frenchman.
Although the crowd will be fully behind Tsonga, the former Australian Open runner-up is still clawing his way back to the top echelons of the sport following a knee injury, and the balance could very well tilt towards the 2016 Wimbledon runner-up.
Kyle Edmund and Karen Khachanov were set for a second round tussle in an interesting face-off between two top-20 players. But that will not materialize as the Briton ended his season on Monday after an MRI scan revealed an accumulation of fluid in his left knee.
The Kremlin Cup champion will thus face Australia’s Mathew Ebden, who got in as a lucky loser.
Also in action will be French veteran Gilles Simon, who has come to this tournament fresh from a quarter-final appearance at the Swiss Indoors last week. He takes on his younger compatriot Lucas Pouille in a must-watch match for the home crowd.
Fifth seed Marin Cilic and Stockholm champion Stefanos Tsitsipas will all be gunning for a win on Day 2 of this event.
List of top matches of the day:
Court Central
Starts at 11am local time/3.30pm IST
Fernando Verdasco vs Jeremy Chardy
Followed by
(WC) Pierre-Hugues Herbert vs Mikhail Kukushkin
Followed by
Gilles Simon vs Lucas Pouille
Followed by
Milos Raonic vs (WC) Jo-Wilfried Tsonga
Not before 7.30pm local time/00:00 hours (31 October) IST
(2) Novak Djokovic vs Joao Sousa
Not before 8.30pm local time/1am (31 October) IST
(5) Marin Cilic vs Philipp Kohlschreiber
You can find the full schedule of Day 2 of the Paris Masters here.
Here is all you need to know about how to follow the Paris Masters:
Tournament name: Rolex Paris Masters
Location: Paris, France
Category: Masters 1000
Date: Tuesday, October 30, 2018
Round: First and second
Broadcast: Sony ESPN and Sony ESPN HD
Livestream: Sony Liv