BNP Paribas Masters
ATP Masters 1000 Series
October 28th to November 3rd
at the Palais omnisports de Paris-Bercy, Paris.
It's all about qualification for London now. The ATP World Tour Finals begin at the O2 on the Monday after this event's final. There are still three places up for grabs. Already qualified are Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic, David Ferrer, Juan Martin Del Potro and Tomas Berdych. Andy Murray has withdrawn with having just had a back operation.
So of the three places left, one of them could be already taken by the time this competition gets under way as Roger Federer will qualify if he wins the Swiss Indoor in Basel. That would leave five players fighting for the last two spots.
Roger's Swiss team-mate, Stanislas Wawrinka is in the driving seat, but he surprisingly lost in this week's tournament in Basel, beaten in the first round in straight sets by Edouard Roger-Vasselin. Similarly, Richard Gasquet lost ground, also in the Basel first round, beaten by Michael Llodra.
Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, back from a long injury lay off can still qualify. He's only 95 points behind Wawrinka, but Milos Raonic and Tommy Haas will probably have to win in Paris to get 1,000 points if they are to qualify.
In this tournament, new world number one Rafa is drawn to play Dmitry Tursinov or Marcel Granollers in round two. Then he has last year's surprise finalist Jerzy Janowicz. Tsonga, Gasquet and Ferrer are in his half of the draw.
Novak has Roger in the bottom half of the draw. They are on course for a semi final showdown, but Federer will have to beat Del Potro in the quarters for that to happen. Haas and Wawrinka are also in this half.
One surprise name in the draw is that of Marin Cilic, who has received a bit of good news from the Court of Arbitration for Sport. They have decided that his punishment for taking an illegal substance was too harsh and although they upheld the guilty verdict, the length of his ban has been reduced, allowing him an immediate return. He's been drawn to play a qualifier in the first round and then Del Potro in the second.
Draw
2013 Grand Slams and ATP Masters 1000 Series
14 Jan: Australian Open, Melbourne. - Winner, Novak Djokovic
7 Mar: BNP Paribas Open, Indian Wells. - Winner, Rafael Nadal
20 Mar: Sony Open, Miami. - Winner, Andy Murray
14 Apr: Monte-Carlo Rolex Masters, Monte-Carlo. - Winner, Novak Djokovic
5 May: Mutua Madrid Open, Madrid. - Winner, Rafael Nadal
12 May: Internazionali BNL d'Italia, Rome. - Winner, Rafael Nadal
26 May: French Open, Roland Garros, Paris. - Winner, Rafael Nadal
24 June: Wimbledon. - Winner, Andy Murray
5 Aug: Rogers Cup, Montreal. - Winner, Rafael Nadal
11 Aug: Western & Southern Open, Cincinnati. - Winner, Rafael Nadal
26 Aug: US Open, Flushing Meadows, New York. - Winner, Rafael Nadal
6 Oct: Shanghai Rolex Masters, Shanghai. - Winner, Novak Djokovic
28 Oct: BNP Paribas Masters, Paris.
4 Nov: Barclays ATP World Tour Finals, O2 Arena, London.