By Richard Pagliaro | @Tennis_Now | Thursday, October 26, 2024
Paris wild cards carry French flavor.
Four Frenchmen—Benjamin Bonzi, Richard Gasquet, Alexandre Muller and Luca Van Assche—have received wild cards into next week's Rolex Paris Masters.
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The 37-year-old Gasquet will make his 16th career appearance at the Paris indoors with his best result a run to the 2007 semifinals.
Nimes, France native Bonzi, who knocked off Christopher Eubanks en route to the US Open third round, will make his second appearance at the Rolex Paris Masters.
Both Muller and the 19-year-old Van Assche will make their main-draw debuts in Paris.
The four wild cards join Adrian Mannarino, Ugo Humbert, Arthur Fils (who benefited from the withdrawal of Borna Coric and Denis Shapovalov to avoid the qualifying rounds) and two-time Stockholm champion Gaël Monfils (protected ranking) among Frenchmen in the main draw.
The Rolex Paris Masters is set for October 28-November 5th.
Last November, 19-year-old Holger Rune rallied from a break down in the decisive set and fought off six break points in the fierce final game to dethrone defending champion Novak Djokovic 3-6, 6-3, 7-5 and capture his maiden Masters championship in a pulsating Paris Masters final thriller.
"It's quite incredible. To stay here with the trophy, it's an amazing feeling," Rune told the media in Paris. "Something that was tough to expect, you know, starting the week off having three match points down. Then now to be able to be here with this beautiful trophy is absolutely amazing feeling."
Photo credit: Matthew Stockman/Getty