There are lots of images/GIFS in ‘The Racquet’ so it may take a while to load depending on your wifi/4g. I promise it’s worth it 😅.

NO SPOILERS 🎥

If you don't want to see the results yet, and want to catch up with the highlights, stop scrolling now! (If any of these links have been taken down, press the ‘View in Browser’ button at the top of the email for updated ones) Links:

Federer 🎥 Simon

Zverev 🎥 Bautista Agut

Thiem 🎥 Nishikori

RESULTS 🎾

💥 = Beatdown \\ 🤕 = Injury \\ ‼️ = Upset

Featured Matches:

Federer d Simon (Basel): 7-6(1), 4-6, 6-4

Key 📊’s

Set 1: Solid first set from Federer, despite going down an early break (just like yesterday). Landed an improved 60% of his 1st serves in and saved 2/3 break points (Simon saved 4/5). Fed also boomed 10 aces, making his life significantly easier on serve (especially in the breaker) than in previous rounds. Federer dominated the tiebreaker, committing zero errors, to take the lead.

Set 1: Simon did a better job of defending his 2nd serve than his 1st (winning 64% of 2nd serve points vs 54% on 1st). The Frenchman counterpunched really well, soaking up pace and redirecting it to awkward positions on the court where Federer found it hard to be offensive. Just got outplayed in the breaker.

Set 2: Bizarre set of tennis. Simon broken twice, Federer broken three times(!). Federer still landing a better number of first serves in at 61%, but getting absolutely torn apart on 2nd serve, winning just 4/13 points. The problem was that Federer looked tired and vulnerable in the longer points, and any time he missed a first serve he would almost always get drawn into a long rally (which Simon thrives on). Some glaring errors off both wings cost Federer dearly. Simon counterpunched wonderfully, hitting acute angle passing shots, redirecting pace and generally being a nuisance by keeping the ball low and deep (negating Federer’s offence or at least making the Swiss attempt winners from dubious positions).

Set 3: Federer looked in complete control, up a break. Then donated serve to love (while serving at 4*-2) with a bizarre service game featuring a forehand that landed nearly a metre long. Fed then gritted his teeth and got down to the dirty work of out-grinding Simon. With the Frenchman serving at 4*-5 Federer made sure to be aggressive only on the right balls, and was rewarded after Simon sailed a backhand long on match point after an extended deuce battle.

2h35 match. Will Roger be able to recover for the semi-final?

Federer hit 40 winners to 60 unforced errors. 31 of those errors were from his forehand(!). Classic playing-Gilles-Simon numbers🤷‍♂️.

Simon hit 18 winners to 31 errors.

🎾

Nishikori d Thiem (Vienna): 6-3, 6-1 💥

Key 📊’s

1st Set: Nishikori ran out to a 5-0 lead before Thiem finally showed up, winning 3 games in a row. Both players faced 6 break points with Nishikori saving 5/6 and Thiem managing one less at 4/6. Kei probably should have wrapped up the set more routinely than he did, but Thiem played well to mount a short lived comeback. Nishikori converted set point with a wonderful backhand down the line (GIF below).

2nd Set: Nishikori was just about perfect, absolutely feasting on Thiem’s 2nd serve, winning 11/12 points played when Thiem missed his 1st delivery. Thiem was in constant trouble, only managing to save 1/4 break points and generally getting outclassed from the baseline.

Overall a brilliant performance from Nishikori who could have easily double breadstick’d Thiem had he kept his focus in the first set. His return of serve in particular was lethal all match and the Japanese used serve and volley very efficiently on some of the bigger points. Thiem on the other hand failed to land enough 1st serves (52%) to consistently set up points from the baseline on his terms. And the Austrian looked rushed on these indoor courts, with his forehand in particular just not doing it’s usual damage against Nishikori’s taking-the-ball-early ability.

—

Also:

Basel🇨🇭:

Copil d Fritz: 7-6(6), 7-5

Fritz was by far the better player in the opening set, creating 8(!) break points to Copil’s 1. But he couldn't convert any of his chances and headed to a tiebreaker. Fritz was then up 6*-3 up in the breaker before Copil won the last 5 points and stole the set. Mostly a question of experience, but Copil also played the big points well. 2nd set was closer with both exchanging breaks and similar numbers of chances. Once again experience told, with Copil edging the win after Fritz double faulted away the crucial break to allow Copil to serve for the match.

Zverev d Bautista Agut (RBA): 7-5, 6-3

Solid performance from Zverev against very streaky Bautista Agut. As has been the case all week, RBA looked incredibly shaky on serve, facing a slightly ridiculous 19 break points in a 2 set match. The Spaniard fought well on the bigger points, saving 14 of those chances, but generally found it very tough to string consecutive good games together. Zverev weathered the up and down storm well, looking very solid on first serve, winning 31/38 points, and dominating his opponents 2nd serve (winning 68% of 2nd serve return points). Zverev’s backhand in particular looked unbeatable today, crushing winners at will, cross-court and down the line.

Medvedev d Tsitsipas: 6-4, 3-6, 6-3

Vienna🇦🇹:

Kukushkin d Fucsovics : 4-6, 7-6(2), 7-6(4)

Verdasco d Monfils : 6-4, 2-1 Ret’d (Monfils 🤕 = Back/hip)

Anderson d Coric: 7-6(2), 1-2 Ret’d (Coric 🤕 = Right thigh)

SHOTS OF THE DAY 😮

— Nishikori converting set point in style.

— Bautista Agut couldn’t have hit his own backhand much better, but Zverev just redirects it up the line with ease.

— ENORMOUS forehand from Zverev to set up 3 match points. Slap on the full stretch.

— Another angle.

— Great to see Zverev willing to come to net more. Needs the practice tbh.

— Zverev’s tweener in a 40 shot rally. Great patience from the German.

— Wonderful volley from Coric (vs Anderson).

— Big early backhand from Federer (vs Simon)

— Simon at his counterpunching best. Setting up his early break in the first set.

— Simon with some amazing reaction touch.

— Another angle.

— Unplayable drop shot by Federer.

— Federer was so good in the first set tiebreaker.

— Great reach on the smash and then a brilliant volley from Federer.

— Stunning 360 volley from Simon.

— Federer finally getting his footwork and forehand right in the 3rd set.

— Ludicrously good drive backhand from Medvedev (vs Tsitsipas).

— Fantastic stretch from Medvedev on a big point.

—Great net play from Tsitsipas deep in the 3rd set.

— No love lost between these two… ❄️

OOP: SEMI-FINALS (SATURDAY) ⏰

Match to watch: 🔥

—

Basel - Centre Court

(2:30pm local🇨🇭, 1:30pm UK🇬🇧, 7:30am CT🇺🇸)

🇩🇪 A.Zverev vs Copil 🇷🇴 (1st Meeting)

Prediction: Zverev in 2

🇨🇭 Federer vs Medvedev 🇷🇺 (H2H: 1-0) (Hard Court H2H: 1-0)

Prediction: Federer in 3

Vienna - Centre Court

(2pm local🇨🇭, 1pm UK🇬🇧, 7am CT🇺🇸)

🇯🇵 Nishikori vs Kukushkin 🇰🇿 (H2H: 7-0) (Hard Court H2H: 4-0)

Prediction: Nishikori in 2

🇿🇦 Anderson vs Verdasco 🇪🇸 (H2H: 3-5) (Hard Court H2H: 1-2)

Prediction: Anderson in 3

EXTRAS 🔍📊🎤

A small reason for Kukushkin’s great week 📊

— Video Review will be used by officials at the 2018 Next Gen ATP Finals. More info.

— Medvedev, after beating Tsitsipas today, now leads the tour for hard court wins this year: 37.

— The big 3 have been collectively absent from Masters 1000’s for a year and a half (and it will probably stay that way for a while!)

PARIS MASTERS 1000 - DRAW 📜

🖨 Full Printable Draw (PDF) 🖨

(Full tournament predictions coming on Sunday, after the qualifiers have been added to the draw)

QUARTER-FINALS TL;DR (IF SEEDS HOLD)

🇪🇸 Nadal vs Thiem 🇦🇹 (Top Half)

🇩🇪 Zverev vs Isner 🇺🇸 (Top Half)

🇿🇦 Anderson vs Federer 🇨🇭 (Bottom Half)

🇭🇷 Cilic vs Djokovic 🇷🇸 (Bottom Half)

PROJECTED PATHS🔮

Nadal

Rd 1: Bye

Rd 2: Verdasco/Chardy

Rd 3: Sock/Gasquet/Shapovalov

QF: Coric/Thiem/Medvedev

SF: Zverev/Isner

F: Djokovic/Federer

— Quick thoughts: Did well to avoid Federer in his half, although Fed probably won’t even play Paris if he goes deep in Basel. Verdasco could be a brutal Rd 2 but he’s going relatively deep in Vienna so could be tired. Shapovalov match could be tough depending on how fast Paris is playing. Nadal’s week will almost entirely depend on his fitness. First match back since US Open.

Djokovic

Rd 1: Bye

Rd 2: Cecchinato/Q

Rd 3: Tsitsipas

QF: Cilic

SF: Federer/Anderson/Nishikori

F: Nadal/Zverev

Quick thoughts: Decent draw. Cecchinato is no problem on hard courts. Tsitsipas could be interesting (the Greek has a winning record over Novak, 1-0 from Toronto), but more likely Djokovic cruises in straights. Cilic is in terrible form and Federer may pull out if he goes deep in Basel. Would be surprising if Novak didn’t make the final.

Federer

Rd 1: Bye

Rd 2: Tsonga/Raonic

Rd 3: Fognini/Fucsovics

QF: Anderson/Nishikori

SF: Djokovic/Cilic

F: Nadal/Zverev

Quick thoughts: OK draw. Nasty Rd 2 on paper but both Raonic and Tsonga are in poor form. Fognini could be a tough Rd.3 and then it only gets tougher. Anderson will be tough to play if Paris is still a fast court (37+ on CPI). Not convinced Fed will even play (in recent years he has pulled out if he goes deep in Basel) so this could all be moot.

Sock (who is defending 1000 points)

Rd 1: Bye

Rd 2: Gasquet/Shapovalov

Rd 3: Nadal

QF: Thiem/Coric

SF: Zverev/Isner

F: Federer/Djokovic

Quick thoughts: Welcome to the Top 150 Jack🤷‍♂️

EARLY ROUNDS TO WATCH OUT FOR 🔥

Potentially good: 🔥 || Potentially great: 🔥🔥 || Grab the popcorn: 🍿

RD 1’s

Raonic vs Tsonga

Shapovalov vs Gasquet 🔥🔥

Medvedev vs Carreño Busta

Simon vs Pouille 🔥

Potential RD 2’s

Federer vs Raonic/Tsonga

Nadal vs Verdasco 🔥🔥

Dimitrov vs Bautista Agut 🔥

Thiem vs Simon/Pouille 🔥

De Minaur vs Schwartzman 🍿

Edmund vs Khachanov 🔥

Anderson vs Basilashvili 🔥🔥

Cilic vs Kohlschreiber 🔥

PLAYERS REACT TO THEIR DRAWS 😂

— Sock checking his ranking after Paris.

— Thiem: “It’s STILL the indoor season!?”

— Verdasco: “¿Well, time for my twice-per-decade defenestration of Rafa, no¿”

— Interviewer: “So Roger, you looking forward to playing Paris?”

— Roger: “LMAO, good joke”

(somewhere Guy Forget is crying)

— Novak: “Who cares about all this? In current form I could literally make the final playing with this lawnmower.”

These daily issues covering Basel & Vienna are free all this week (usually only for subs). If you aren’t a subscriber you won’t get these Recaps for Paris next week (or the ATP Finals). You can try the first month free (cancel anytime)👇

Subscribe - first month FREE

GAME, SET, MATCH 👋

— The Racquet is created, and written, by Matt.

— You can find me on Twitter here.

See you tomorrow for the Basel & Vienna Semi-Finals!