Sky Live: Paris Masters - Roger Federer withdraws from final tournament of regular ATP season
Wednesday 1 November 2017 19:36, UK
Roger Federer has withdrawn from the Paris Masters leaving Rafael Nadal as the headline act for the final tournament of the regular ATP season, where the focus will be on the race for the final spots at the ATP Finals.
After beating Juan Martin del Potro to claim the seventh title of his brilliant 2017, Federer confirmed he would miss the last Masters 1000 event of the season - having already claimed the titles in Indian Wells, Miami and Shanghai.
His absence means Federer is now highly unlikely to catch Nadal in the race to end the year as the world No 1, but Federer's mind is focused on tournament successes and his withdrawal is designed to give him the best possible chance of winning a first ATP Finals title since 2011.
"I'm really sorry I am not participating in the Rolex Paris Masters this year, but my body needs some rest after the Basel tournament," said Federer.
"I have played a lot of tennis this season and I have to take care of my body if I want to continue playing at the highest level in the years to come. In 2016, it was very painful to miss half of the season, so I learned from it."
Nadal tops the seedings in Paris and should he win his second round match that will be enough to secure the year-end No 1 spot and that may determine the Spaniard's involvement.
Nadal pulled out of Basel with a knee problem but a first career Paris title, he lost to David Nalbandian in 2007 in his only final at the event, would take him level with Federer on an ATP-leading seven titles and three Masters titles for the year.
While those who have already qualified ponder a late decision beneath those six names to have already qualified, the battle for the final two spots looks intriguing.
Pablo Carreno Busta occupies the eighth and final spot but has been out of form recently and that has allowed Del Potro and Jo-Wilfried Tsonga to move into contention and even Lucas Pouille, after his title in Vienna on Sunday.
A strong showing in Paris will give them every chance of an appearance at the O2 so it will be abacuses at the ready for a week that promises thrilling tennis and a keen sense of arithmetic.
Live ATP Masters Tennis
The Draw
With defending champion Andy Murray and four-time champion Novak Djokovic also missing the event, Nadal is joined by Marin Cilic (3), Alexander Zverev (4) and Dominic Thiem (5) as the seeded semi-finalists.
However Vienna champion Pouille has been handed Federer's spot in the draw as the 17th seed and is in the sort of form that could see him take advantage
As fate would have it, Querrey, Carreno Busta and Del Potro have all been drawn in the top half of the draw with Goffin, Anderson and Tsonga in the bottom half and there is the possibility that the third round could clear the ATP Finals picture early in the week.
All the top 16 players have first-round byes and potentially tricky second-round match-ups. Carreno Busta (Pospisil/Mahut) and Querrey (Krajinovic/Sugita) are seeded to meet in the last 16 as are Goffin (Mannarino/Ferrer) and Tsonga (Shapovalov/Benneteau).
Del Potro (Lorenzi/Sousa) could face Alexander Zverev (Johnson/Haase) while Anderson (Rublev/Verdasco) is likely to come up against Thiem (Harrison/Gojowczyk) at the same stage.
Nadal will face either Mischa Zverev or Hyeon Chung in the second round while Pouille will face an all-French affair with Pierre-Hugues Herbert or Spain's Feliciano Lopez.
Shock in Store
Attempting to pick out a couple of shocks at this stage of the season is a tricky business with injuries taking their toll and half an eye towards the off season and a well deserved break.
It is tough to call any Fernando Verdasco victory a surprise but Andrey Rublev's attention is likely to be on the NextGen Finals in just over a week's time so the veteran Spaniard has every chance of a run in Paris.
And having come through qualifying Joao Sousa also looks like good value to beat Paolo Lorenzi.
Brit Watch
Once again in the absence of Andy Murray it falls to No 3 Kyle Edmund to carry the hopes as the sole British representative in the singles in the French capital.
Having done so admirably in Vienna last week, where he reached the semi-final before defeat to Pouille, and the initial draw had paired them together again before Federer's absence moved Pouille into that section of the draw.
Edmund will now face Russian lucky loser Evgeny Donskoy.
Sky Sports will have all the action from Paris Masters through the week, starting on Monday with coverage underway on Sky Sports Arena and Sky Sports Main Event from 10am.
The Next Gen ATP Finals in Milan and season-ending extravaganza ATP Finals at London's O2 in November end another memorable year which will be covered via our website www.skysports.com/tennis with live blogs and updates as the season reaches its climax.
On the move? Head to our app for mobile devices and iPad, or follow our Twitter account @SkySportsTennis to join in the conversation. Who will win the World Tour Finals this year? Have your say...
