Sebastian Korda‘s season may be over after he withdrew from the 2024 Paris Masters, but he has been replaced by a significant name in the sport.
The 2024 Paris Masters is the final Masters-1000 tournament of the year. There is still plenty to play for, most notably several players attempting to qualify for the ATP Finals.
Those hoping to book their place at the ATP Finals in Turin with a strong run in Paris were boosted when Novak Djokovic withdrew from the tournament he has won seven times.
Djokovic is currently sixth in the race to Turin, and eight men will qualify in total. The Serbian may have already done enough with his results this season, but Djokovic’s fate is now out of his hands after he decided not to play at the Paris Masters.
Taylor Fritz, Casper Ruud, Andrey Rublev, Alex de Minaur, Tommy Paul, and Grigor Dimitrov are the other men hoping to qualify for the year-end tournament. The race’s closeness means it will likely go down to the wire.
Despite some impressive results this season, Sebastian Korda would not have been in the running for the ATP Finals if he could play at the Paris Masters. He is currently 21st in the race to Turin.
Korda’s most notable result this year was winning the first ATP-500 tournament of his career on home soil at the Citi Open in Washington. The 24-year-old defeated Flavio Cobolli in three sets in the final.
Unfortunately, Korda sustained an elbow injury during his second-round defeat at the US Open against Tomas Machac. Despite being able to complete the match, he has not played on the ATP Tour since.
Korda announced earlier this month that he had undergone successful surgery on the problem and hoped to be back on the court competing as quickly as possible, although he did not give an exact date
The American was forced to withdraw from the Vienna Open because of that problem, and it has now been confirmed that Korda will miss the final Masters-1000 tournament of 2024 with his injury.
His season is not officially over since Korda is on the entry list for the Moselle Open the following week. However, it would not be surprising if he decides to wait until 2025 to play again.
Matteo Berrettini replaces Korda at the Paris Masters. The Italian missed the opening few months due to an injury but recovered strongly to achieve several impressive results this year.
The 2021 Wimbledon runner-up has thrived most on clay. He won titles at the Morocco Open, the Swiss Open in Gstaad, and the Austrian Open in Kitzbuhel, all of which took place on the dirt.
Berrettini also reached a final on grass at the Stuttgart Open, but he lost to Jack Draper. Since returning to tennis after his injury, the 28-year-old has yet to reach a hardcourt final.
The Italian’s blistering and dangerous style means Berrettini can never be ruled out. When he finds his best tennis, Berrettini is always a force to be reckoned with.
