Paris Masters Day 3 Recap: Daniil Medvedev involved in spat with crowd, Casper Ruud's defeat sees him drop out of Top 10

Day 3 of the 2023 Paris Masters saw another couple of stunning upsets.

Daniil Medvedev was sent packing by Grigor Dimitrov in a thrilling nail-biter. The Russian got into it with the crowd once again as he was upset with them during and after the match.

Casper Ruud was another high-profile casualty. His defeat to Francisco Cerundolo has ended his shot at qualifying for the ATP Finals. Amidst this chaos, Novak Djokovic remained steady to begin his campaign with a victory.

Here's a brief recap of how it all went down on Day 3 of the Paris Masters:

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Novak Djokovic edges closer to a 7th title in Paris and the year-end No.1 ranking

Carlos Alcaraz's early exit has paved the way for Djokovic to tighten his grip on the year-end No. 1 spot. He kicked off his quest for another title at the Paris Masters with a 6-3, 6-2 win over Tomas Martin Etcheverry.

Djokovic extended his unbeaten run to 14 matches, a streak which started with his title-winning run in Cincinnati. He'll next take on Tallon Griekspoor for a place in the last eight.

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Daniil Medvedev in another spat with the crowd during his loss to Grigor Dimitrov

Daniil Medvedev at the 2023 Paris Masters.

Medvedev came quite close to avoiding an early exit as he rallied from 5-2 in the third set and even saved six match points. Dimitrov ultimately sneaked past him in the tie-break to score a 6-3, 6-7 (4), 7-6 (2) win in the second round.

Medvedev was booed by the crowd in the middle of the match after throwing his racquet in the second set. He even threatened to stop playing, but calmed down after a while. The Russian was subject to the same behavior on his way out and he flipped the bird to the crowd as a response.

Medvedev will now hope for a better showing at the ATP Finals, whereas Dimitrov will face Alexander Bublik in the next round.

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Casper Ruud's woes continue with another early exit

Francisco Cerundolo defeated Ruud 7-5, 6-4 in the second round of the Paris Masters to put an end to the latter's chances of making the cut for the ATP Finals. The Norwegian was a runner-up at the year-end championships last year. He'll now drop out of the top 10 of the rankings next week.

Cerundolo and Ruud shared a funny moment at the net after the match. The former wished him good luck for the ATP Finals, perhaps not realizing that the latter hadn't qualified. The Norwegian didn't miss a beat and quipped back that he'd enjoy the pre-season instead.

It has been largely a season to forget for Ruud. Aside from a title in Estoril and making the French Open final, his results have been underwhelming. He's now set to compete at the Moselle Open next week.

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Paris Masters 2023: Day 3 results at a glance

Men's singles

(1) Novak Djokovic def. Tomas Martin Etcheverry: 6-3, 6-2

Grigor Dimitrov def. (3) Daniil Medvedev: 6-3, 6-7 (4), 7-6 (2)

(4) Jannik Sinner def. Mackenzie McDonald: 6-7 (6), 7-5, 6-1

(6) Holger Rune def. Dominic Thiem: 6-4, 6-2

(7) Stefanos Tsitsipas def. Felix Auger-Aliassime: 6-3, 7-6 (4)

Francisco Cerundolo def. (8) Casper Ruud: 7-5, 6-4

(10) Alexander Zverev def. Ugo Humbert: 6-4, 6-7 (3), 7-6 (5)

(11) Hubert Hurkacz def. Roberto Bautista Agut: 6-3, 6-2

(Q) Botic van de Zandschulp def. (12) Tommy Paul: 6-4, 2-6, 6-3

(13) Alex de Minaur def. (LL) Dusan Lajovic: 4-6, 6-4, 6-4