The 2016 edition of the BNP Paribas Masters is set to begin. Andy Murray and Novak Djokovic are in a close contest for the year-end No. 1 ranking. Djokovic has the edge, but Murray can mathematically make a run at overtaking his chief rival in a year when Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal have often been injured.
The competition in the 48-player main draw begins on Monday, October 31.
Event Details
Event: BNP Paribas Masters
Category: ATP World Tour – Masters 1000
Date: October 31- November 6, 2016
Location: AccorHotels Arena – Paris, France
With a prize money allotment of nearly 3.8 million Euros, the BNP Paribas Masters, casually referred to as the Paris Masters or Paris-Bercy or just Bercy, are not quite as lucrative as other Masters 1000 tournaments. The key reason for this is that while most Masters events have 56-player draws and the Indian Wells and Miami events have 96-player draws, this has a 48-player draw. The reason? It’s late in the season. Players are more injured or worn down. In the past, top players have skipped this event in order to be ready for the ATP World Tour Finals in London. A more selective field intends to bring more motivated players to the event. A 56-player field might invite players to tank early-round matches and get a fatter end-of-year paycheck without putting forth a fully robust effort.
The points structure under the ATP system:
Championship: 1,000 points
Runner-up: 600
Semifinal: 360
Quarterfinal: 180
Round of 16 (third round): 90
Round of 32 (second round): 45
Round of 64 (first round): 10
Former Champions and Results (5 Years)
Year Champion Runner-up Score
2015: Novak Djokovic def. Andy Murray – 6-2, 6-4
2014: Novak Djokovic def. Milos Raonic – 6-2, 6-3
2013: Novak Djokovic def. David Ferrer – 7-5, 7-5
2012: David Ferrer def. Jerzy Janowicz – 6-4, 6-3
2011: Roger Federer def. Jo-Wilfred Tsonga – 6-1, 7-6(7-3)
Player Info:
Novak Djokovic had been spending some time off court on a family vacation. The three-time defending champion will be back in Paris, where on the indoor hard courts, he normally looks invincible. Remember how he crushed Andy Murray in straight sets in last year’s final? The courts are slow and it would again be difficult to send anything past him. Djokovic made the semifinals in his last tournament in Shanghai, but there is growing speculation about his slump. He has set the bar so high that even a semifinal showing is seen as a disaster. Djokovic will come to Paris fresh and would like to find that motivation which made him a dominant force.
Andy Murray is playing some inspiring tennis of late and badly wants to steal that No. 1 ranking from Djokovic. In the absence of Djokovic, Murray won the China Open and in Shanghai, he claimed the title after Djokovic’s shock exit from the semifinals. Murray is currently playing in Vienna, where he is just two matches away from winning the third title in a row there. It would narrow the gap, but he’ll need to conquer Paris to get in position to overtake Djokovic as the world’s best player. The form and hunger are there, but he could run out of gas in Paris. He is 32-5 this year on the hard courts and 3-0 indoors. He’s 18-3 on clay and 12-0 on grass. The record on hard courts is great but the five losses on that surface are his most of any type.
Stan Wawrinka pushed Djokovic to the brink in last year’s semifinal but couldn’t do further damage. This year though, he would like to believe that this is his title to lose with Djokovic searching for top form and Murray tiring. Much was expected of him in Basel in Federer and Nadal’s absence, but he was upset by Mischa Zverev in three sets in the quarterfinals. On the season, Wawrinka is an impressive 26-6 on hard courts, although he’s just 6-3 on the indoor hard courts. He’s just 12-4 on clay and 1-2 on grass.
AccorHotels Arena
The AccorHotels Arena was named Bercy Arena last year and the Palais Omnisport in previous years. The building is a strange architectural product, a pyramid that is sunken in, such that the playing surface is below ground level when spectators walk into the entrance. The main stadium court houses over 16,000, while a few side courts look like glorified cafeteria halls and hold a few thousand people, nothing more.
