The current Master ATP1000 in Paris is the last act of the “normal” (or knock-out) tournaments of the season. At this point of the season, typically, most of the attention is on the rankings. This is true especially for the players that have a chance to qualify for the ATP Finals like Gael Monfils or for the ones that are battling for the world no.1 rank such as Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic. However, being this the last push of the season, for some players it’s important to end the year in the best possible way and Denis Shapovalov and Grigor Dimitrov have the chance to finish the season in the top20 and end up in “glory” an extremely complicated season.
Gael Monfils
Gael is currently no.10 in the live rankings with 2530 points. If he beats Shapovalov in the quarters, he will have at least 2710 points, and from Monday he will leapfrog Roberto Bautista Agut (2540 pts) and Matteo Berrettini (2670 pts). That means that he will have a place in the ATP Finals as the 8th player.
Shapovalov and his new coach Mikhail Youzhny
Denis had a rather weird season. Everything looked great after he reached a prestigious semifinal in Miami. However, from that moment, things got really bad, with the Canadian incapable of winning more than 1 match per tournament (if lucky) until he reached the semifinal in Winston-Salem in August. Later he got to the 3rd round at the US Open after losing a tough 5-setter vs. Monfils; he reched the semifinal in Chengdu, and he won his maiden title in Stockholm. Everything happened after the Canadian started his partnership with his new coach Mikhail Youzhny. Denis is currently ranked no.28, but he is already no.20 in the live rankings. If he beats Monfils in Paris, he breaks new ground also to overtake his friend Felix Auger-Aliassime and be the new world no.17 (career-high).
Grigor Dimitrov
The Bulgarian is finally finding his best tennis after a couple of miserable seasons. After a fantastic 2017 that ended with his triumph at the ATP Finals, Grigor struggled a lot in 2018 and this year his rank went as low as to world no.78. Grigor bounced back in style after reaching the semifinal at the US Open following his win over Roger Federer in the quarters, and he is now 1 step from the semifinal in Paris.
Dimitrov is currently ranked no.27, but he is already 24 in the live rankings with 1567 points. If he reaches the semifinal in Paris he will be back in the top20 with at least 1747 points (world no.19).
Monfils in Paris, ranking, and results in 2019
Ranked no.13, Monfils has a 37-17 win-loss record in 2019. Monfils is playing in Paris where he defeated Benoit Paire 6-4 7-64 and Radu Albot 4-6 6-4 6-1.
Gael has won 1 title in 2019 in Rotterdam.
Monfils won 8 titles in his career: 2 on hard courts, 1 on clay courts and 5 on indoor courts. (See the list of his titles)
Shapovalov in Paris, ranking, and results in 2019
Ranked no.28, the Canadian has a 32-24 win-loss record in 2019. The Canadian is now having a run in Paris where he bested Gilles Simon 2-2 ret., Fabio Fognini 3-6 6-3 6-3 and Alexander Zverev 6-2 5-7 6-2.
Denis will come up against Monfils in the quarter. The head to head is 1-0 for Monfils.
The last time that they locked horns, Monfils won 6-75 7-64 6-4 6-76 6-3 in the 3rd round in New York on the 31st August 2019.
Shapovalov conquered 1 title in 2019 in Stockholm.
Gael Monfils and Denis Shapovalov played each other 1 time. The head to head is 1-0 for Monfils.
The last time that they squared off, Gael Monfils won 6-75 7-64 6-4 6-76 6-3 in the 3rd round in U.S. Open on the 31st August 2019.
Here the highlights.
