Eaton Thatcher
There’s a battle under way at the ATP Paribas Masters in Paris, the final ATP 1000 event of the season. While the likes of Kei Nishikori, Stan Wawrinka, and Milos Raonic are all still in contention, the spotlight is fixed on world number one Novak Djokovic and world number two Andy Murray, who appear to be on a collision course in France. The tournament has huge implications for which player will end the year in top spot.
Djokovic is looking to claim his third consecutive Emirates ATP title by finishing the year ranked number one. Murray is on fire right now, though, riding a 15 match win-streak. He now sits just 415 points back of Nole (10,610 points versus 10,195 points), and is within an arm’s length of taking what has always been just out of reach for him; despite having won multiple majors and Olympic gold, Murray has never reached the number one spot.
There are two ways Murray can dethrone Djokovic by November 7th: first, if Murray wins the title in Vienna and Djokovic fails to reach the finals; second, if Murray reaches the finals and Djokovic fails to reach the semis.
This should be worrying for Djokovic, especially considering his form has not been spectacular of late. Contrast with Murray, who has been playing the tennis of his life, and you’ve got a real fight on your hands.
Djokovic and Murray have met 34 times prior, with Djokovic leading 24–10. But the two may not even have to face in order for Murray to become the highest-ranked tennis player in the world.
That’s not to say Murray has an easy path to number one. He will have to contend with the likes of Nishikori, Raonic, and Jo-Wilfried Tsonga before reaching the finals. Wawrinka is the stiffest competition on Djokovic’s side of the draw. Wawrinka is the current world number three, but he is also struggling with his form at the moment.
Odds to Win the 2016 ATP Paribas Masters:
Novak Djokovic: 13/8
Andy Murray: 13/8
Kei Nishikori: 14/1
Stan Wawrinka: 16/1
Milos Raonic: 18/1
Photo credit: Carine06 (Flickr) [https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0/].
