Australian players will fly the flag at tour events on three different continents this week, with Aussie No.1 Alex de Minaur leading the charge at the ATP Paris Masters.
Melbourne, VIC, Australia, 28 October 2024 | Matt Trollope
Australians will feature in the draws at ATP and WTA events across three different continents this week, with the Paris Masters being the biggest of the trio.
It’s where Alex de Minaur, Alexei Popyrin and Jordan Thompson will fly the flag for Australia, competing for the champion’s prize of more than $1.47 million plus 1000 ranking points.
The ranking points are especially of interest to De Minaur, given the No.9 seed is on the cusp of qualifying for the prestigious eight-player ATP Finals in Turin.
> DRAW: ATP Masters 1000 Paris
De Minaur, who opens his Paris Masters campaign against Argentina’s Mariano Navone, sits less than 200 points behind eighth-placed Andrey Rublev in the race to the season-ending event.
Popyrin, currently ranked 25th, has drawn former world No.6 Matteo Berrettini as his first-round opponent, while world No.29 Thompson begins against Spain’s Pedro Martinez.
Chris O’Connell and James Duckworth fell in the qualifying rounds in Paris; O’Connell came within a set of the main draw before losing to Alejandro Davidovich Fokina.
WTA action continues this week in Asia, where Aussies Kimberly Birrell and Priscilla Hon enter the main draw at the 250-level tournament in Hong Kong.
> DRAW: WTA 250 Hong Kong
Birrell, ranked 111th after her recent run to the WTA final in Osaka, faces Ana Bogdan while Hon takes on Eudice Chong.
In Mexico, Australia’s Ajla Tomljanovic and Maya Joint will play at the WTA 250 tournament in Merida, with both looking to continue their impressive form.
Tomljanovic, the third seed who opens against a qualifier, has won seven of her past nine matches and recently reclaimed the Australian women’s No.1 ranking.
> DRAW: WTA 250 Merida
Joint, who has risen to a career-high ranking of world No.110 during a breakout season, contests the main draw of a WTA tournament for the first time and faces Canadian Marina Stakusic.
The 18-year-old’s only other tour-level appearance came at this year’s US Open, where she advanced to the second round after qualifying for the main draw.
Astra Sharma fell in the final round of Merida qualifying.
