Match Function
Surprises by the Seine!: Rune, Sock, Berdych amongst fairytale Paris champions
Nalbandian, Khachanov additionally amongst string of surprising titlists at ATP Masters 1000
October 28, 2024
Corinne Dubreuil/ATP Tour
Novak Djokovic congratulates Holger Rune on his first ATP Masters 1000 title in Paris.
By ATP Employees
On the 2005 Rolex Paris Masters, unseeded Tomas Berdych turned the lowest-ranked champion in event historical past by beating Ivan Ljubicic in a five-set ultimate. The Czech, No. 50 within the PIF ATP Rankings on the time, began a Twenty first-century pattern of shock champions on the ATP Masters 1000 within the French capital, with trophy runs for unseeded stars like David Nalbandian, Karen Khachanov and Holger Rune — plus the Sixteenth-seeded Jack Sock — following Berdych’s triumph.
Since 2005, just one man has received a number of titles on the prestigious Paris occasion: Novak Djokovic, who claimed the primary of his seven in 2009. Roger Federer (2011) and Andy Murray (2016) have additionally reigned at a event that has topped superstars and rising stars as champions in equal measure. With the Serbian out of this yr’s occasion and Federer and Murray now retired, the stage may very well be ripe for one more darkish horse to complete first.
Forward of the newest version of the Paris event, ATPTour.com seems again on the surprising titlists who may encourage a brand new shock champion in 2024.
Tomas Bedych, 2005A 20-year-old Berdych received his one and solely ATP Masters 1000 title with a five-set victory in opposition to Ljubicic within the 2005 ultimate on indoor carpet. The Czech beat 5 seeded gamers en path to the title, together with Guillermo Coria, Juan Carlos Ferrero, Gaston Gaudio and countryman Radek Stepanek, earlier than his 6-3, 6-4, 3-6, 4-6, 6-4 triumph in opposition to Ljubicic.
Berdych had beforehand crushed Federer on the 2004 Olympics, however even he was shocked by his success in Paris, the place he stays the lowest-ranked champ in event historical past.
“If somebody instructed me I used to be going to win the event, I might have referred to as him loopy,” Berdych mentioned on the time.
The Paris title was the second of Berdych’s 13 tour-level titles. He reached 19 extra finals, together with three on the ATP Masters 1000 stage and one at Wimbledon in 2020. The previous World No. 4 retired in 2019 and has since gone on to teach Jiri Lehecka, although the pair cut up in September.
Tomas Berdych and Ivan Ljubicic are joined by 2004 Paris champ Marat Safin through the 2005 trophy ceremony. Photograph by Clive Brunskill/Getty Photographs.
David Nalbandian, 2007As the Rolex Paris Masters returned to indoor laborious courts in 2007, Nalbandian ushered within the new period with a shock title run that noticed him knock out each Federer and Rafael Nadal. The Argentine took out high seed Federer 6-4, 7-6(3) within the third spherical and later surprised Nadal 6-4, 6-0 within the ultimate, additionally beating Carlos Moya, David Ferrer and Richard Gasquet alongside the way in which.
The title was a part of a late-season surge for Nalbandian, who received the ATP Masters Cup (now the Nitto ATP Finals) in 2005 however dropped outdoors of the High 20 through the 2007 marketing campaign. He received 12 of his final 13 matches that yr to finish on a excessive with ATP Masters 1000 trophies in Madrid and Paris. In Madrid, he beat Nadal, Djokovic and Federer in succession to win the title.
Jack Sock, 2017Sock’s shock Paris title in 2017 was doubly vital: Along with the title, the outcome earned him a spot at that yr’s Nitto ATP Finals, the place he reached the semi-finals.
The American battled again from a set down in three of his 5 Paris victories, profitable two tie-breaks to edge Kyle Edmund in his opening match and later battling again in opposition to Fernando Verdasco and Filip Krajinovic. A 5-7, 6-4, 6-1 victory in opposition to Serbian qualifier Krajinovic earned Sock his lone ATP Masters 1000 title.
“Loopy issues can occur,” Sock, then 25, mentioned of his run. “That is sports activities, and that is why we play.”
Sock turned the primary American to say a Masters 1000 title since Andy Roddick received Miami in 2010; it was not till Taylor Fritz’s 2022 Indian Wells title that one other participant from the US would break by means of at that stage. Sock’s triumph additionally affected Large 4 lore, because it meant that — for the primary time since 2004 — greater than three Masters 1000 titles have been received by gamers outdoors that elite group.
Jack Sock celebrates on the 2017 Rolex Paris Masters. Photograph by Dean Mouhtaropoulos/Getty Photographs.
Karen Khachanov, 2018After saving two match factors and surviving a ten/8 third-set tie-break in opposition to John Isner within the third spherical, Khachanov made fast work of fourth seed Alexander Zverev and sixth seed Dominic Thiem to achieve his first — and up to now, solely — ATP Masters 1000 ultimate.
The issue stage would solely improve on the final hurdle, with Novak Djokovic throughout the web chasing his fifth Paris title. Towards a fourth consecutive High 10 opponent, a 22-year-old Khachanov produced a big-hitting show to say a 7-5, 6-4 victory.
“It means the world to me,” mentioned Khachanov, who would rise to a career-high PIF ATP Rating of No. 8 the next yr. “I could not be happier to complete the season like this.”
The outcome has stood up as the most important of his profession, alongside his 2021 Olympic semi-final victory that earned him a silver medal. Now 28, Khachanov has additionally reached the semi-finals on the US Open (2022) and Australian Open (2023).
Holger Rune, 2022A fearless 19-year-old Rune saved three match factors on the way in which to his first ATP Masters 1000 crown in Paris, however that was not essentially the most eye-catching statistic from his breakthrough week. After saving these match factors in his opening win in opposition to Stan Wawrinka, Rune rattled off 5 consecutive High 10 wins to finish his shock run. The Dane beat Hubert Hurkacz, Andrey Rublev, Carlos Alcaraz and Felix Auger-Aliassime with out dropping a set earlier than assembly defending champ Djokovic within the ultimate.
From a set down, Rune confirmed nerves of metal to assault the Serbian within the clutch moments of a 3-6, 6-3, 7-5 victory. Within the match’s ultimate sport, he saved six break factors as he dug deep to say the most important title of his profession in dramatic vogue.
“It was essentially the most tense sport of my life,” he mentioned of the marathon sport. “My coronary heart was virtually in my mind. I used to be already beginning to consider the tie-break. I am very proud I may end it.”
On the heels of these 5 High 10 wins, Rune earned himself a spot in that elite group as he left Paris at No. 10 within the PIF ATP Rankings. The Dane completed the 2022 season by reaching 4 straight finals and claiming three titles. Buoyed by that success, he climbed to a career-high PIF ATP Rating of No. 4 in 2023.
