A very interesting week in tennis is behind us, with four events in total and four new champions crowned.
The 2024 season is rapidly coming to an end, and only a couple more weeks of action left. Players are tired and want to go on vacation, but some of them are still motivated to finish the season strongly. A few of them were able to produce some sensational efforts this week to win trophies.
Draper and Mpetshi Perricard Both Bag Second Titles
On the ATP Tour, we had the famous Basel-Vienna combo of events, with both events being ATP 500 tournaments, which are big trophies to win. In Vienna, it was Jack Draper who was playing marvelous tennis all week long, though he wasn’t the only one.
He was able to outmaneuver a few good players along his way to end up in the final, where experienced veteran Karen Khachanov awaited him. The Russian also played very well this week, so it was expected to be a really interesting final.
It did end up being a fascinating encounter, but probably not as close as people assumed it might be. Draper won it 6-4, 7-5, with the second set a real rollercoaster that easily could have ended differently.
The Brit was up 4-0, before Khachanov turned the match around to make it 5-4. He still didn’t win it, though, as Draper finished on a 3-0 run to win the trophy in Vienna. It’s his second title after winning Stuttgart earlier, and the biggest of his career that takes him through to a career high of No 15 in the world.
In Basel, we had another stunner. Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard (image on top) played spectacular tennis to make a shocking run to the final, beating Holger Rune along the way. The French player has had a huge year so far, improving his ranking dramatically and, more importantly, proving he belonged once he did.
With this win in Basel, he’s set to become world No 31, which is a new career high for the 21-year-old. Ben Shelton was his opponent in the final, far from an easy foe for Mpetshi Perricard, but he was not to be denied this week in Basel.
It was the big-serving Frenchman who won the match, thanks to his massive serve. He had 22 aces along with 35 winners in that final to win his second title on the ATP Tour, and what a trophy it is—a 500-level one.
Danilovic and Zheng Prevail in Asia
There were also WTA events going on this week, and both of those had their conclusions on Sunday. In Guangzhou, Olga Danilovic of Serbia bested Caroline Dolehide in the final 6-3, 6-1 to win the trophy. It’s the second career title for the Serb, who will debut with a new career-high ranking of No 52 on Monday.
In the other final, we had Sofia Kenin, who had a throwback run in Tokyo. She faced Qinwen Zheng, who finally secured a trophy in Asia after coming close a couple of times in the past few weeks.
The Chinese player won 7-6 (5), 6-3, further solidifying herself as one of the best players in the world. Zheng will remain world No 7 after this triumph, but she got her fifth career trophy, so that’s good in itself.
Paris Masters and WTA 250s This Week
Looking ahead to this week’s tennis, it’s a big week for the ATP Tour. We have the final Masters event of this year in Paris, and as always, the 2024 Paris Masters going to be a crucial event for those looking to squeak into the ATP Finals.
The lineup for the 2024 ATP Finals is not set, with several players still having a chance to make it. As an event that hands out 1000 points to the winner, the Paris event will be crucial for most of those players in their bid for the ATP Finals. Look for big pushes by Alex de Minaur, Grigor Dimitrov and Tommy Paul as they look to make the cut.
It’s also the last big singles event for 99% of the Tour, and has historically been upset-prone as the top seeds are often looking ahead to Turin already.
As for the WTA side of tennis, we have two WTA 250 events in China, one in Hong Kong and the other in Jiujiang. The WTA Finals are also less than a week away, as they officially begin on November 2nd in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. That’s what most tennis fans are going to be looking forward to as far as WTA tennis is concerned.
