Rafael Nadal starts the penultimate week of the ATP World Tour season focused on two more career milestones in what has already been a resurgent 2017 for the Spaniard.

No. 1 is No. 1: Nadal needs to win only one more match to clinch his fourth year-end finish atop the Emirates ATP Rankings (also 2008, 2010, 2013 ). No. 2 is No. 31: The number of ATP World Tour Masters 1000 titles Nadal will have – which would be a record – if he wins the Rolex Paris Masters this week. He is currently tied with Serbian Novak Djokovic for the all-time lead at 30.

Winning one more match is likely to happen here or at the Nitto ATP Finals, to be held 12-19 November at The O2 in London. A 31^st Masters 1000 title in 2017 will require Nadal accomplishing a career first and hoisting the “Tree of Fanti” trophy at the AccorHotels Arena in Paris.

“Let’s see. I need to win a match. But I am here to try my best as in every tournament,” Nadal said on Monday during his pre-tournament press conference. “Of course, if that happens, it will be something important for me. But season is not over and this is not the moment to think much about that. I will just try to think about trying to have the right preparation for the tournament and then try to be ready for the first match.”

Most Year-End No. 1 Finishes

The top seed opens against Next Gen ATP Finals qualifier Hyeon Chung. The 21-year-old South Korean routed German Mischa Zverev on Monday, breaking the serve and volleyer five times to advance 6-0, 6-2.

Nadal, a 10-time champion at Roland Garros, has always reached at least the quarter-finals during the indoors Paris tournament. His best finish came during his debut 10 years ago when he lost in the final against Argentine David Nalbandian.

Rafa at the Rolex Paris Masters

It will be Nadal’s first tournament since falling to Roger Federer in the Shanghai Rolex Masters final on 15 October. “I needed to rest after Shanghai. I’ve had a lot of matches this year,” said Nadal, who enters Paris 65-10 on the season, including  which includes six title runs.

Nadal’s long-time rival Federer withdrew from the Rolex Paris Masters on Sunday evening after winning his eighth Swiss Indoors Basel title and 95^th career crown.

“After winning Shanghai and winning Basel he believes [missing Paris] will be better for his body and for his preparation for London,” Nadal said.

“I am here to try my best as always and just trying to practise well every day… I am just happy to be here in probably the most important city in my career.”

The battle for a place at the Nitto ATP Finals, to be held at The O2 in London from 12-19 November, all comes down to the final seven days of the regular ATP World Tour season at the Rolex Paris Masters this week.

There are currently 12 singles players competing at the final ATP World Tour Masters 1000 tournament of the year mathematically in contention for a place at the season finale – from Belgium’s David Goffin at No. 8 in the Emirates ATP Race To London to Diego Schwartzman of Argentina at No. 26.

Goffin, a winner of two ATP World Tour titles from four finals in 2017, is in pole position to make his debut in London. He could clinch the seventh spot in the eight-player field by reaching the Paris semi-finals.

Pablo Carreno Busta (No. 9), Sam Querrey (No. 11), Kevin Anderson (No. 12) and the in-form Juan Martin del Potro (No. 13) and Jo-Wilfried Tsonga (No. 14) would also seal their place at the Nitto ATP Finals by lifting the Paris trophy.

Lucas Pouille, last week’s winner of the Erste Bank Open 500 crown, Roberto Bautista Agut, John Isner, Albert Ramos-Vinolas, Jack Sock and Schwartzman all have a chance by winning Paris. But their qualification will also depend upon the results of other contenders.

View Emirates ATP Race To London

In the doubles battle for qualification, Ivan Dodig and Marcel Granollers hold the final automatic qualification berth. Currently at No. 7 in the Emirates ATP Doubles Team Race To London, the Croatian-Spanish team will book their spot in London by reaching the Paris final. They could also qualify by advancing to at least the Paris quarter-finals as long as Raven Klaasen and Rajeev Ram don’t win the title.

Klaasen and Ram, last year’s runners up at the Nitto ATP Finals, would need to reach the final to stand a chance of qualifying. Two other teams, Colombians Juan Sebastian Cabal and Robert Farah, and Feliciano Lopez and Marc Lopez, need to win the Paris title to compete in London.

View Emirates ATP Doubles Team Race To London

A LOOK BACK
China International Suzhou (Suzhou, China): It has been a banner year for junior stars making the transition to the ATP Challenger Tour. In June, Felix Auger-Aliassime won his first title in Lyon, France. In July, it was Nicola Kuhn’s turn in Braunschweig, Germany and in September, Wu Yibing lifted the trophy in Shanghai. On Sunday, former junior No. 1 Miomir Kecmanovic earned his maiden title in Suzhou, China, defeating Radu Albot 6-4, 6-4.

One week after falling in the first round in Ningbo, the Serbian did not drop a set in streaking to the title in Suzhou, upsetting four seeded opponents along the way. He is the youngest from his country to win on the circuit since Novak Djokovic in 2005. Players from Serbia have now accounted for a tour-leading 12 titles this year.

The reaction says it all! 18 year old ?? Miomir Kecmanovic claims a thrilling match point to lift his first #ATPChallenger trophy in Suzhou. pic.twitter.com/04gHfIxqQ2

— ATP Challenger Tour (@ATPChallenger) October 30, 2017

Open Brest Arena Credit Agricole (Brest, France): Home hope Corentin Moutet gave French fans plenty to cheer about in Brest. The unseeded wild card claimed his maiden ATP Challenger Tour title, defeating Stefanos Tsitsipas 6-2, 7-6(8) in one hour and 38 minutes. It was the first all-teenage final of the year, with Moutet joining Kecmanovic as 18-year-old winners on Sunday. The Frenchman moves up 64 spots to a career-high No. 160 in the Emirates ATP Rankings, while the Serbian soars 85 positions to No. 209.

It was an impressive week for Moutet, who rallied from a set down on two occasions: upsetting defending champion Norbert Gombos in the first round and edging Yannick Maden in the semis. He is the fifth different French titlist this year, joining Richard Gasquet, Adrian Mannarino, Mathias Bourgue and Calvin Hemery.

Latrobe City Traralgon Challenger (Traralgon, Australia): Even Hollywood couldn’t have scripted a week like this for Jason Kubler. After sitting on the sidelines for more than a year due to injury, Kubler claimed the title in Traralgon in what was his first ATP Challenger Tour event since July 2015. It was a fairytale week for the Aussie, who came through qualifying to capture his second Challenger title. He saved one match point to edge countryman Alex Bolt 2-6, 7-6(6), 7-6(3) in two hours and 28 minutes in Sunday’s final.

Kubler’s victory is even more astounding considering it came on hard courts. The 24 year old, a former junior No. 1, has endured a career of knee issues that have only allowed him to compete on clay. In fact, he had never played a Challenger match on hard entering the week. Kubler would go on to upset third seed Taro Daniel and second seed Matthew Ebden – both in straight sets – en route to the championship. He vaults 266 spots to No. 349 in the Emirates ATP Rankings.

.@JasonKubler caps a fairytale week in Traralgon, claiming the title in his first #ATPChallenger in more than two years. Saves 1 MP to d. Alex Bolt 26 76(6) 76(3). pic.twitter.com/ojI5rVKG1S

— ATP Challenger Tour (@ATPChallenger) October 29, 2017

Hung Thinh Vietnam Open (Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam): Former World No. 8 Mikhail Youzhny returned to the Top 100 thanks to another successful week on the ATP Challenger Tour. The Russian veteran went back-to-back in Ningbo and Ho Chi Minh City, defeating John Millman 6-4, 6-4 on Sunday in Vietnam’s largest city. The win not only saw Youzhny extend his win streak to 10 straight, but nearly assured the 35-year-old a main draw berth at the Australian Open in January.

Read & Watch: Santillan, Purcell Visit Ben Thanh Market In Ho Chi Minh City

Lima Challenger (Lima, Peru): Gerald Melzer did not drop a set all week in Lima, claiming his first ATP Challenger Tour title of the year. He ousted Jozef Kovalik 7-5, 7-6(4) in the final, marking his sixth crown in total. The Austrian is making a late-season push towards a Top 100 return, moving up 19 spots to No. 119.

.@GeraldMelzer is the champion in Lima, claiming his sixth #ATPChallenger title and first of the year with a 75 76(4) win over Jozef Kovalik. pic.twitter.com/nITuWhvyRc

— ATP Challenger Tour (@ATPChallenger) October 30, 2017

A LOOK AHEAD
Once again, five tournaments are on the slate this week. All are in different continents. The U.S. indoor swing gets underway in Charlottesville, with defending champion opening against top seed Tennys Sandgren in a blockbuster first round clash. In Shenzhen, China, Youzhny looks to make it three titles in three weeks, while Kecmanovic eyes a second straight crown.

Jordan Thompson is the top seed on home soil in Canberra, Australia, while Ruben Bemelmans joins Tommy Robredo and teens Moutet, Felix Auger-Aliassime and Alex de Minaur in Eckental, Germany. Lastly, in Guayaquil, Ecuador, second seed Nicolas Kicker is the defending champion and accompanied by Victor Estrella Burgos and #NextGenATP star Casper Ruud.

No. 16 Lucas Pouille, +8
Lucas Pouille captured the biggest crown of his career on Sunday at the Erste Bank Open 500 to rise eight positions to No. 16 in the Emirates ATP Race To London. The 23-year-old defeated fellow Frenchman Jo-Wilfried Tsonga 6-1, 6-4 for his fourth ATP World Tour crown. With the victory, Pouille became the first player in 2017 to win on all surfaces, adding a hard-court crown in Vienna to triumphs on the Gazprom Hungarian Open clay in Budapest and on grass at the Mercedes Cup in Stuttgart.

Tsonga, who is at No. 14 in the battle for the two remaining spots for next month’s Nitto ATP Finals, leads the ATP World Tour this year with a 20-3 mark indoors. He had been bidding to become the first Frenchman to win at least five singles titles in a single season since Guy Forget won six in 1991.

Finals Contenders Jostle To Qualify
Twelve players – from David Goffin at No. 8 to No. 26-ranked Diego Schwartzman – all have a mathematical opportunity to clinch one of the two remaining qualification berths for the Nitto ATP Finals, to be held at The O2 in London from 12-19 November, based on their performances at the Rolex Paris Masters. Read More

Juan Martin del Potro, at No. 13 in the Emirates ATP Race To London, maintained his fine run of form following his 20th crown at the Intrum Stockholm Open by advancing to the Swiss Indoors Basel title match (l. to Federer). The popular Argentine rose one place (to 2,415 points) last week and is 190 points behind Spain’s Pablo Carreno Busta (2,605 points), who sits in the final automatic qualification berth.

Other Top 100 Movers This Week
No. 29 Philipp Kohlschreiber, +5
No. 49 Kyle Edmund, +11
No. 68 Guillermo Garcia-Lopez, +11
No. 81 Marton Fucsovics, +25
No. 82 Stefanos Tsitsipas, +11
No. 83 Gilles Simon, +7
No. 84 Mikhail Youhzhny, +14
No. 85 Julien Benneteau, +11
No. 100 Blaz Kavcic, +8

Richard Gasquet has been one of the most consistent players on the ATP World Tour over the last decade-plus, finishing inside the Top 20 in the Emirates ATP Rankings in eight of the past 12 seasons. At the elite ATP World Tour Masters 1000 level, the Frenchman has reached three finals, finishing runner-up in Toronto twice (2006 l. Federer, 2012 l. Djokovic) and Hamburg once (2005 l. Federer).

This series has also provided the stage for a couple other notable career highlights. Fifteen years ago, Gasquet made his tour-level debut as a 15-year-old at the Monte-Carlo Rolex Masters, when he became the youngest player ever to qualify for a Masters 1000. Three years later at the same tournament, he saved three match points en route to an upset win over World No. 1 Roger Federer in the quarter-finals – a moment that remains one of his best career memories. 

He spoke to ATPWorldTour.com about that match, and also reflected on why the Masters 1000s are so tough.

Which Masters 1000 host city is your favourite and why?
I want to say Paris-Bercy because it’s in Paris and it’s the last tournament of the year. My family and friends are there.

Which Masters 1000 would you most like to win?
It would be the same. It would be incredible to win at home in France in front of a French crowd. It’s a dream to win there.

What’s your favourite court/conditions at a Masters 1000 tournament?
I think Indian Wells is great. You have many great courts, a lot of big courts, great facilities there. For me, it’s one of the best tournaments in the world.

Is there a win at a Masters 1000 tournament from your career that stands out?
Yes. I had three finals: in Toronto two times and one in Hamburg many years ago. It would be great for me to win one, and I’m still able to do it so I’ll try my best to do it.

I know you’ve been asked about it a lot, but I’d like to talk about that 2005 win when you beat Roger Federer in Monte-Carlo. What did that mean to you?
I think that’s one of my best memories because I was 18 years old, I was [ranked] 100 in the world and he was No. 1. Nobody expected me to win and I did it. It was such a great surprise for me, so of course it’s one of my best memories.

What’s the toughest part about Masters 1000s? A lot of people say they’re harder than Grand Slams because you go straight into big matches.
Yeah, I would have to say the same. In the first round, you can play Top 20 guys. It’s crazy; it’s the biggest ever you can get. It’s a Masters 1000 so that’s why it’s so tough in the first round – you can play one of the best players in the world. It’s very difficult to win matches in this kind of tournament.

Who stands out to you as a great Masters 1000 competitor?
It’s easy to say, it’s [Novak] Djokovic and [Rafael] Nadal because they’ve won [30 titles], so of course, especially on clay for Rafa and the other tournaments for Novak. They’re the biggest players to face there.