Tennis LIVE: Carlos Alcaraz warned at Paris Masters as sad Novak Djokovic statement issued

Jannik Sinner has arrived in Paris after winning the Vienna Open title over the weekend. The world No. 2 started cramping during the final against Alexander Zverev. It came weeks after Sinner retired from the Shanghai Masters with severe cramps.

But the 24-year-old is feeling good coming into the Paris Masters, where he faces Zizou Bergs on Wednesday.

"It was not same issue at all. I feel like was normal. You know, played five days in a row. The final was very physical. It can happen," Sinner said of the cramps in Vienna.

"The body feels good now. A bit tired, of course, playing five matches in a row and coming here is not much time to recover.

"But I'm happy. You know, I'm happy how I'm feeling. I recover every day better. So tomorrow is my first match. I'm very focused to hopefully play some good tennis also here. Then we see how it goes.

"But I'm not worried physically. You know, I feel in a good shape also tennis-wise. So I hope for a good start, and then we see how it goes."

In the last first-round match of the Paris Masters, Alejandro Davidovich Fokina survived a scare to beat lucky loser and home hope Valentin Royer 4-6 6-1 6-4.

He'll now face another Frenchman, Arthur Cazaux.

Davidovich Fokina came to Paris off the back of reaching the Swiss Indoors final last week, where he finished runner-up to Joao Fonseca.

Joao Fonseca has insisted that he is "feeling good" after receiving a medical timeout during his match against Denis Shapovalov on Tuesday.

The teenager lifted the title in Basel over the weekend and then headed to the Paris Masters, coming from a set down to beat Shapovalov 5-7 6-4 6-3.

He received treatment from the physio during the third set and later said: "I'm feeling good. Tennis is like this. Week after week, you need to change the mindset, and there's going to be some little discomfort, mini injuries, where I felt a little bit tight, feeling tight. But feeling good, nothing that a good physio can't make it good in one day.

"So, yeah, I think tomorrow is going to be great. I'm already feeling better. Tomorrow is another good day, so I'm going to fight till the end."

Alejandro Davidovich Fokina is back in action at the Paris Masters after losing the Swiss Indoors final over the weekend.

The No. 15 seed looked to be on his way to a shock early exit when he lost the first set to lucky loser Valentin Royer.

But he's bounced back to take the second set and the score is level at 4-6 6-1.

The Paris Masters has moved from its old home of the Accor Arena in Bercy to a new venue, the La Defense Arena.

And defending champion Alexander Zverev admitted that the smaller showcourts in the new arena were "a bit of a mess".

The world No. 3 said: "I think there were some things that are definitely better here. I think the size for the restaurant and for the locker rooms and everything like this is for sure better here.

"I think there is stuff that was maybe a little bit better in Bercy. I would say practice courts probably. The second match courts are nicer the way they look, but they're a little bit of a mess. You know, they're very loud from the other courts, right?

"Like, if you're playing on one of the outside courts, you have noise from Court 1, you have noise from the speakers of Stadium Court. It's a little bit of, like, there's a lot going on.

"So, yeah, but again, I have not played on center court yet, and I can probably tell you more tomorrow."

It's Tuesday, and play at the WTA 250 in Chennai has yet to get underway as a cyclone wreaked havoc on the schedule.

All play was cancelled on the first two days of the tournament, and organisers are hoping to get first-round matches completed on Wednesday, with the weather looking better as the week goes on.

British No. 3 Fran Jones is among those waiting to get their campaigns underway at the Chennai Open.

Read the full story here

Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz are locked in a battle for the year-end No. 1 ranking. Alcaraz currently sits at the top, and he can secure his position by reaching the final at this week's Paris Masters.

While Sinner is still just about in the running - unless Alcaraz reaches the championship match - he believes it will be "impossible" to claim the year-end No. 1 spot, and he's not thinking about it.

Ahead of the Paris Masters, the Italian said: "No, it's impossible. Honestly, I'm not thinking about this at the moment. It's going to be a goal for next year. This year it's not in my hands. Let's say it like this.

"But considering how the whole year went, you know, we have achieved some incredible things. Now I just want to finish the season the best possible way. If I can do something great, amazing. If not, I did something great already this year."

Daniil Medvedev has won a match at the Paris Masters for the first time in four years! The Russian lifted the title here in 2020, and then finished runner-up in 2021, but he had not won a match since.

Medvedev received a bye directly into the second round in 2022, 2023 and 2024, but lost his opening match three years on the bounce. But he’s finally snapped his losing streak at this tournament, beating Jaume Munar 6-1 6-3.

World No. 1 Carlos Alcaraz meets Britain's Cameron Norrie in the second round of the Paris Masters. They'll face off at 6pm UK time / 7pm local during the night session.

Cameras caught them linking up in the gym at the La Defense Arena a few hours before meeting on the court.

Alcaraz leads their head-to-head by five wins to two losses and beat Norrie in the Wimbledon quarter-finals this summer.

Joao Fonseca has beaten Denis Shapovalov for the second time in under a week!

Shapovalov retired in the third set of their Swiss Indoors quarter-final last week after Fonseca managed to force a decider.

And the teenager has come from behind to win again, this time in his own right. Fonseca sparked concern when he received a medical timeout in the third set, but he beat the Canadian 5-7 6-4 6-3.

Fonseca is now on a five-match winning streak after lifting the title in Basel last week.

Joao Fonseca had a brief chat with the physio after winning the second set but played on and immediately broke Denis Shapovalov to start the decider.

The teenager then saved break points in a marathon game, and he leads 3-2 with a break in the third set. But he's called the trainer to the court and is receiving a medical timeout.

It's currently panning out like their match in Basel last week...

Denis Shapovalov took the first set against Joao Fonseca in their first-round match at the Swiss Indoors before Fonseca forced a decider. Shapovalov then retired while 4-1 down in the third.

In their first-round match at the Paris Masters, Shapovalov again took the first set. But Fonseca has now forced a decider, winning the second 6-4.

However, the Brazilian teenager has just been spotted chatting to the ATP physio during the end-of-set changeover.

British star Katie Boulter has been forced to retire from her first-round match at the Hong Kong Open.

Boulter called the physio early in the second set and burst into tears, deciding she could not continue.

Alexandra Eala advances 6-4 2-1 ret.

Read more here

Denis Shapovalov is out for revenge as he faces Joao Fonseca in the first round of the Paris Masters - and he's just won the first set 7-5.

They met in last week's Basel quarter-finals, where Shapovalov also took the first set. But Fonseca forced a decider and raced into a 4-1 lead when the Canadian retired.

During that match, Shapovalov had raised concerns about Fonseca's sportsmanship and the amount of time he was taking in between points.

Valentin Vacherot's life changed when he won the Shanghai Masters as a qualifier earlier this month, shooting up from No. 204 in the world into the top 40.

He's now back to winning ways at the Paris Masters, storming past 14th seed Jiri Lehecka in under an hour. And Vacherot is already looking forward to being a top player going into the 2026 season, which will allow him to make his debut at some of the sport's biggest events.

"Well, when you're breaking in the top 50, you don't have to ask questions about the schedule anymore," he explained.

"When you have a few ATP 250s, you might wonder which one you're going to get into, but in Australia I played the quallies, and reaching the main draw now and being there ahead of time, it's wonderful.

"Indian Wells, Acapulco, and the whole tour, everything, all tournaments, this is going to be exceptional, and I'm looking forward to it so much."

There is plenty of mouthwatering tennis action to look forward to at the Paris Masters today. Here are some of the matches to come:

Estimated 12.50pm | Jaume Munar vs Daniil Medvedev

Estimated 6pm | Carlos Alcaraz vs Cameron Norrie

Estimated 7.30pm | Taylor Fritz vs Aleksandar Vukic

Estimated 12.10pm | Denis Shapovalov vs Joao Fonseca

Estimated 1.40pm | Alejandro Davidovich Fokina vs Valentin Royer

Estimated 3.10pm | Ben Shelton vs Flavio Cobolli

Estimated 4.40pm | Learner Tien vs Andrey Rublev

Alexander Bublik has insisted that he decided not to shake the hand of Alexei Popyrin at the Paris Masters because the Australian didn’t apologise when he benefited from two lucky net cords during the match.

The Russian-born Kazakhstani tennis star secured his safe passage to the second round after winning the match 6-4, 6-3.

After the match, Bublik was asked whether he had been annoyed by Popyrin’s failure to offer an apology.

And the 28-year-old explained: “Well, precisely because if someone clips two net cords and doesn't apologise, but celebrates as if he's won something...”

Discussing his refusal to shake Popyrin’s hand, Bublik then added: “I just don't see anything wrong with that. I think any reasonable person would have done the same in my place, that is, if I had ever done that.

“They can celebrate and then apologise. I'm not one to cling to that, but they apologise for it. There is a code, there is a kind of etiquette. If someone doesn't comply with it, why should I comply with another?”

The first day of Paris Masters saw plenty of outstanding tennis being played. Here are some of the key results:

Andrey Rublev def Jacob Fearnley 6-1, 6-4

Grigor Dimitrov def Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard 7-6, 6-1

Karen Khachanov def Ethan Quinn 6-1, 6-1

Cameron Norrie def Sebastian Baez 6-3, 6-4

Alexander Bublik def Alexei Popyrin 6-4, 6-3

Alexandre Muller def Brandon Nakashima 6-2, 7-5

Grigor Dimitrov was emotional after defeating Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard at the Paris Masters in his first match in 112 days.

The Bulgarian returned to action after suffering a serious pectoral injury during his showdown with Jannik Sinner at Wimbledon. Dimitrov had been leading by two sets to love against the Italian but was forced to retire from the match as his opponent went on to win the title.

After defeating Mpetshi Perricard in France, Dimitrov displayed his emotions by pumping both his fists and looking towards his box.

He then explained in his on-court interview: “Towards the end of the year, you really feel that energy [of the crowd]. I feel very appreciated all around, and that gives me a great gratitude just to be back.”

John Isner issued a sad statement about Novak Djokovic as he told followers of the Nothing Major podcast that he expects the Serbian to miss the upcoming ATP Finals.

Djokovic has already qualified for next month's event but has opted to skip this week’s Paris Masters and hasn’t confirmed whether he will appear in Turin.

“I don’t think so,” Isner explained when the conversation turned to whether Djokovic will play.

“And I hope I’m wrong. I think everyone would love to see him in Turin. The fact that he’s already qualified playing the schedule that he’s played this year is just completely absurd. At 38 years old, it needs mentioning again.

“But I don’t think he’s playing. He didn’t play last year. Pulled out of Paris. I think he’s just gearing up for 2026.”

Carlos Alcaraz has been warned by former Wimbledon semi-finalist Cameron Norrie ahead of their showdown at the Paris Masters later today.

Alcaraz will go into the match as the overwhelming favourite as he sets his sights on winning the title.

But Norrie exclaimed before the encounter: “It’s a match to enjoy. He’s one of the two best players in the world, between him and Jannik [Sinner].

“I’m going to take it to him. I always have battles with him, so I’m looking forward to that.”

Good morning and welcome to our live tennis blog on another big day at the Paris Masters.

We’ll have plenty of tennis news throughout the day, so stay tuned for updates.