Paris Masters 2026 Day Two Recap

The 2026 Rolex Paris Masters continued on Tuesday, with Novak Djokovic, Matteo Berrettini and Ben Shelton among the winners as the first round concluded and the race for ATP Finals qualification intensified.

Djokovic recovered from a set and a break down to beat Valentin Vacherot, although the 39-year-old needed another medical timeout along the way. Berrettini saved two match points against Brandon Nakashima, while Andrey Rublev’s miserable run continued with yet another opening-round defeat.

The biggest upset came in the evening session, where Casper Ruud produced some of his best tennis of the season to knock out Rafael Jódar and complicate the Spaniard’s ATP Finals qualification hopes.

Elsewhere, Shelton made light work of Cameron Norrie, Tommy Paul and Taylor Fritz kept their Turin hopes alive, and Alex Michelsen came from behind to book a meeting with Carlos Alcaraz.

Below is a look at Tuesday’s results, the key matches and what’s coming up on Wednesday, including Alexander Zverev against Lorenzo Musetti and Djokovic’s second-round clash with Rinky Hijikata.

Day Two Paris Masters Round of 64 Results

Paris Masters Day 2 Results – 3 November 2026

Key Match Recap

Novak Djokovic def. Valentin Vacherot 6-7(5), 7-5, 6-1

Djokovic had to dig deep to keep his Paris campaign alive, recovering from a set and a break down to defeat Valentin Vacherot in two hours and 36 minutes.

The match looked difficult for Djoker on paper given his form, but even more so because Vacherot beat him during his Shanghai title run last year and arrived in Paris fresh off winning Basel.

The Monegasque served exceptionally well, firing 22 aces and giving Djokovic little to work with for much of the opening two sets.

Djokovic had chances in the first-set tie-break but made a costly mistake on a forehand volley at 5-4, allowing Vacherot back in. He took advantage and grabbed the opener.

Things got worse for Djokovic when he was broken immediately in the second set, and he also needed treatment for a shoulder problem. Standard procedure, and there aren’t many matches these days where he doesn’t call the trainer.

However, Vacherot began to struggle physically, which was a surprise since he’s normally one of the best for match fitness, but he needed treatment for an ankle issue midway through the set.

Djokovic eventually found a way back, breaking for 2-2 before taking advantage of Vacherot’s declining movement to level the match.

The deciding set was much more convincing for the Serbian, who finally started reading the serve and moving Vacherot around the court.

He wasn’t playing particularly well for large parts of the match, but he hung around long enough for the balance to shift in his favour.

I’m still not entirely convinced by his physical condition, though. The shoulder treatment is another concern, and while he looked much better in the third set, he won’t want to spend two and a half hours on court every round, especially during this one-week Masters format where the matches come thick and fast.

Djokovic remains 11th in the Race to Turin and needs at least a semi-final appearance to have a realistic chance of qualifying.

Next up is qualifier Rinky Hijikata; it should be straightforward, but the Australian is playing well and has little to lose.

Casper Ruud def. Rafael Jódar 6-3, 6-4

One of the biggest surprises of the day came in the evening session, where Casper Ruud produced one of his best performances of the season to defeat ninth seed Rafael Jódar 6-3, 6-4 in just 78 minutes.

Jódar has announced himself this year and arrived with plenty at stake in the Race to Turin, but Ruud was the better player throughout, and the conditions seem to suit his game.

He took the opening set 6-3 and, even after falling a break behind in the second, never seemed particularly troubled, recovering to close out the match in straight sets.

I typically find Ruud a bit uninspiring to watch, but his forehand is decent, and this was a decent serving of revenge after Jódar beat him in the Shanghai quarter-finals last month.

For Jódar, the defeat couldn’t have come at a worse time. The Spaniard had been occupying the final effective ATP Finals qualifying position, but this early exit means his fate is no longer in his own hands.

He now needs results elsewhere to go his way, or potentially a withdrawal, to make his debut in Turin.

Matteo Berrettini def. Brandon Nakashima 6-4, 3-6, 7-6(8)

One of the day’s best matches came on Court 2, where Matteo Berrettini saved two match points to defeat 14th seed, Brandon Nakashima.

The Italian took the opening set 6-4, but Nakashima responded to force a decider, and neither player found the decisive breakthrough until the final tie-break.

Berrettini eventually came through 10-8, having saved two match points along the way.

It was a good win for the Italian, especially since Nakashima beat him in Shanghai last month.

Berrettini’s ranking has suffered from his continued inability to stay fit for any meaningful length of time, but despite being made of glass, he’s still a very dangerous opponent when the serve and forehand are working.

His reward is a second-round meeting with Ugo Humbert, who has an excellent indoor record and usually raises his level when playing in France.

Tomás Martín Etcheverry def. Andrey Rublev 6-4, 6-7(4), 7-6(3)

Andrey Rublev’s difficult run continued as he suffered another opening-round defeat, this time against Tomás Martín Etcheverry.

The Argentine came through a hard-fought two-hour, 49-minute encounter featuring two tie-breaks, plenty of baseline exchanges, and little else.

Etcheverry took the first set before Rublev responded to win the second in a tie-break, but the Russian couldn’t finish the job.

With the match going the distance, Etcheverry held his nerve in the deciding tie-break, taking it 7-3 to book a meeting with Alex de Minaur.

For Rublev, it’s another disappointing result in a season where he’s struggled to find much consistency.

I’m not sure what his coaching situation with Safin is, but he’s now lost his opening match at four consecutive tournaments, and this is the sort of match Rublev should be finding a way through if he wants to get back among the leading players.

Ben Shelton def. Cameron Norrie 6-3, 6-4

Ben Shelton made a convincing start to his Paris campaign, defeating Cameron Norrie 6-3, 6-4 in just 72 minutes.

I’d wondered whether Norrie could make this awkward, particularly given his good recent record in Paris and Shelton’s unconvincing form, but the American was too strong.

Norrie had needed three sets to get past Matteo Arnaldi on Monday, and he never really found a way to trouble Shelton.

The third seed has been involved in plenty of tight matches this season, so he’ll be pleased to come through one without too much drama.

Tommy Paul def. Holger Rune 7-5, 6-4

Tommy Paul kept his ATP Finals hopes alive with a straight-sets victory over former Paris champion Holger Rune.

The American took the first set 7-5 before taking a double-break lead in the second.

Paul isn’t the best closer, so he made life slightly difficult for himself when serving for the match, but eventually closed it out 6-4 on his fifth match point.

It was a solid enough performance from Paul, who hasn’t been particularly convincing in recent weeks.

As for Rune, his comeback from an Achilles injury remains a work in progress. He showed some encouraging signs in Basel, including a victory over Hubert Hurkacz, but there’s still a fair way to go before he looks like the player who won this tournament four years ago.

Taylor Fritz def. Benjamin Bonzi 3-6, 6-3, 6-4

Taylor Fritz was another American to advance, though he needed three sets to get past French qualifier Benjamin Bonzi.

Bonzi got off to a better start, racing into a 4-1 lead before taking the opening set 6-3.

Fritz eventually settled down and began finding more success behind his serve, taking the next two sets 6-3, 6-4.

It wasn’t the sort of performance that will have the rest of the draw worried, and I don’t think his game has looked too convincing this season as he’s failed to take advantage of some soft draws at big tournaments, but he’s through and remains in slight contention for the ATP finals.

Other Results and Wednesday’s Matches

Learner Tien also advanced, though lucky loser Adolfo Daniel Vallejo pushed him harder than expected; Tien eventually won 6-3, 5-7, 7-5 after two hours and 20 minutes.

Quentin Halys gave the French crowd something to cheer with, beating Arthur Fery 7-6(6), 7-5, while Jan-Lennard Struff defeated another home player, Arthur Géa, 7-6(3), 6-3.

Alex Michelsen recovered from a set down to beat Jiří Lehečka 6-7(5), 6-2, 6-4, earning himself a second-round meeting with Carlos Alcaraz.

Wednesday sees all the remaining second-round matches, with Zverev against Musetti, Djokovic taking on Hijikata, and Alcaraz opening his campaign against Michelsen.

The evening session also features Arthur Fils against Tomáš Macháč, which could be worth watching given the Frenchman’s recent fitness problems.

Highlights

Soon.

Paris Masters Day 3 Round of 32 Matches

Paris Masters Day 3 Schedule – Wednesday 4 November 2026

All times local (CET). Matches listed in main-draw order, not order of play. Court 2 begins with a doubles match at 11:00 before the singles matches. Times and scheduling are subject to change.