ATP Masters in Paris, Round of 16, Thursday, 03.11.2022
It is one of the last highlights the tennis year 2022 still has to offer: The Masters in Paris, for which the entire world elite has travelled! The record champion in the French capital is Novak Djokovic.
After a relatively difficult start, the Serb’s opponents will not be any easier, his opponent in the round of 16 is ranked in the top 20. Nevertheless, this does not stop top provider Bet365 from giving the Djoker the clear role of favourite.
Average odds of 1.10 to 6.40 are available, but isn’t that a bit too clear? I’ll get to the bottom of this question in my Djokovic Khachanov tip and reveal why I would bet on a few games!
Only once did a player manage to defend his title at the Paris Masters. Who was that? Novak Djokovic, of course, and twice! Between 2013 and 2015, he rejoiced and won his finals outright.
Now he can achieve this feat again, because Djokovic is the defending champion. In 2021 he won in three sets against Daniil Medvedev, and for the last three tournaments the Serb has always reached the final.
It is not at all surprising that he appears at the top of our 2022 betting provider rankings when it comes to the title favourite. For that, however, his debut in Paris was riddled with quite a lot of trouble.
Maxime Cressy made life very difficult for him, in the end Djokovic won narrowly 7-6, 6-4. 90% points won on the first serve, no opponent’s chance to break? Actually, these numbers sound very strong.
Cressy simply had a good day, but Djokovic’s class prevailed in the end. After winning the final at Wimbledon, the break did the Serb a lot of good.
In Tel Aviv he raced to victory without losing a set, and in Nur-Sultan he even went one better. Cristian Garin, Botic van de Zandschulp, Daniil Medvedev and in the final Stefanos Tsitsipas, none of them stood a chance.
Djokovic had met Karen Khachanov in the quarter-finals, so now the two are dueling again. The favourite won 6-4, 6-3 to secure his seventh victory in their eighth head-to-head meeting.
The only time the Russian won: in 2018, at the Masters in Paris of all places! Nevertheless, the bookmakers do not believe that Khachanov will be able to repeat this surprise on Thursday.
The odds show an average of 1.10 to 6.40. Khachanov knows, of course, that in matches against Djokovic you can virtually only win. He has already had to play twice in Paris, recording a resounding victory and a hard-fought win.
He was through in no time against Sebastian Baez at 6-1, 6-1, but Marc-Andrea Huesler demanded much more from him at 6-3, 4-6, 6-4. One strong point was that in both matches he came close to winning 90% of the points on his first serve.
After his semi-final at the US Open, he had only managed three wins, but apparently Paris suits him quite well. In 2018, the Russian stood at the top here, outplaying the entire world elite with John Isner, Alexander Zverev, Dominic Thiem and, in the final, Novak Djokovic.
My Djokovic Khachanov Tip
Will Novak Djokovic live up to his reputation as the top favourite in Paris? His deuce in the French capital was definitely fraught with some difficulties, but the Serb pulled off his service game with a vengeance.
Karen Khachanov had trouble against Huesler, but not at all against Baez. The Russian lost outright to Djokovic a few weeks ago, but in 2018 he beat him, incidentally in the final in Paris.
Naturally, the Djoker is the favourite. But I think Khachanov will force a game or two on him. Therefore I come to the following betting recommendation:
Djokovic wins at Over 18.5 Games!
