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The 51st edition of the Paris Masters will start on Monday, October 30, with the first day having 16 matches, 15 in singles and one in doubles.
Ninth seed Taylor Fritz will be the highest-ranked player in action, up against Sebastian Baez, while 12th seed Tommy Paul will face wildcard entrant Richard Gasquet. Andy Murray will take on 13th seed Alex de Minaur while 14th seed Frances Tiafoe will take on Alexander Bublik.
The likes of Ben Shelton, Grigor Dimitrov, and Karen Khachanov will also be in action. On that note, let's take a look at the predictions for some of the matches that will take place on Day 1 of the Paris Masters.
#1. Andy Murray vs Alex de Minaur
Andy Murray will take on 13th seed Alex de Minaur in the first round of the Paris Masters. It will be the sixth meeting between the two, with the Aussie winning all five of their previous encounters.
Both players are entering the Paris Masters after enduring second-round exits at the Swiss Indoors in Basel. Murray lost 6-7(5), 6-3, 6-2 to Tomas Martin Etcheverry while De Minaur lost 6-4, 6-3 to Tallon Griekspoor.
The Brit has won 16 out of 32 matches so far this season while the Aussie has triumphed in 42 out of 66 fixtures. De Minaur will enter the match as the favorite to win and considering how he has fared against Murray this season (three wins), he should be able to win the match and reach the second round.
Predicted Winner: Alex de Minaur.
#2. Grigor Dimitrov vs Lorenzo Musetti
Grigor Dimitrov will take on Lorenzo Musetti in the first round of the Paris Masters. It will be the third meeting between the two, with their head-to-head currently tied at 1-1.
Dimitrov and Musetti faced each other in the first round of the Erste Bank Open in Vienna last week, with the former winning 6-3, 6-4. The Bulgarian has won 36 out of 56 matches so far this season while the Italian has triumphed in 32 out of 58 clashes.
Dimitrov has looked in decent form lately and should be able to beat Musetti to reach the second round in Paris.
Predicted Winner: Grigor Dimitrov.
#3. Tommy Paul vs Richard Gasquet
12th seed Tommy Paul will take on local wildcard Richard Gasquet in the first round of the Paris Masters. It will be the second encounter between the two, with the Frenchman winning 7-5, 6-2 in their last meeting, which came in the first round of the Estoril Open in 2022.
Paul is entering the Paris Masters after losing in the second round of the Erste Bank Open while Gasquet lost in the first round of a Challenger tournament in Brest.
The American has won 40 out of 67 matches so far this season while the Frenchman has triumphed in 14 out of 37 main-draw fixtures on the ATP Tour. While Gasquet should not be written off, given his experience and the crowd support, Paul's current run of form should be enough to see him through to the second round in Paris.
Predicted Winner: Tommy Paul.
#4. Karen Khachanov vs Max Purcell
16th seed Karen Khachanov will face Max Purcell in the first round of the Paris Masters. It will be the second meeting between the two, with Khachanov winning their previous fixture 7-6(5), 6-3 in the opening round of the Melbourne Summer Set 1 in 2021.
The Russian is entering the Masters 1000 event after losing in the quarterfinals of the Erste Bank Open in Vienna, while the Aussie was beaten in the first round of the Swiss Indoors in Basel.
Khachanov has won 30 out of 46 matches so far this season while Purcell has triumphed in nine out of 27 fixtures. The Russian is easily the superior out of the two based on his current run of form, and should be able to get the win without much trouble.
Predicted Winner: Karen Khachanov.
