Watch the ATP Challenger Tour event in Ismaning, Germany and you will see a carpet court as orange as leaves turning colour in autumn. Do not be mistaken, it is not red clay, it is the last carpet tournament remaining on the ATP Challenger Tour or higher.

Swiss Marc-Andrea Huesler, who is seeded eighth at the Wolffkran Open by Tannenhof this week, is no stranger to the surface. Despite rarely competing on carpet at the pro level, the 27-year-old has found success in Ismaning, where he was crowned champion in 2020.

“Carpet is a bit special. It’s a bit of a changeup, pretty fast but absolutely playable,” Huelser told ATPTour.com. “I grew up on carpet a little so I know what it’s like. It plays pretty fast, especially serving, it’s really important. It’s easier to get free points with your serve, especially the slider serve, it somehow accelerates on the floor.

“It’s similar to grass because you have to stay low. If you manage to take the ball early, go to net and use the pace your opponent gives you, then you’re a good carpet player.”

Ismaning’s surface rewards hefty servers. No better example than last year’s champion Quentin Halys, who struck 107 aces across five matches, including 24 in the final, en route to lifting the trophy. The rarity of carpet tournaments also means players need to quickly grow accustomed to the surface upon their arrival in Germany.

“Many players are happy to practise longer than other tournaments,” tournament director Christoph Poehlmann said. “If possible, they arrive earlier and have more practice options It’s a big change for everybody and they need more time to practise.” 

Another memorable moment from last year’s event was when home hope 19-year-old Max Hans Rehberg went on a dream run to his maiden Challenger final. Now age 20, Rehberg kicked off this year’s edition by upsetting third seed Maxime Cressy.

“It’s special because some of the players here are German players who grew up on the surface and know that they can play on it because they are familiar with it,” Poehlmann said. “Our local wild card Rehberg has played on this surface since he was a child and last year he made the final. It was a great success for him to come so far in the tournament.”

Did You Know?
Former World No. 1 Jimmy Connors claimed 45 titles on carpet while John McEnroe captured 43 trophies on the surface. But since 2009, carpet has not been featured on the ATP Tour.

Grigor Dimitrov’s late-season charge shows no sign of abating at the Rolex Paris Masters.

The Bulgarian held his nerve for a 6-1, 4-6, 6-4 triumph against Hubert Hurkacz on Friday to book a semi-final spot at the indoor ATP Masters 1000 event. Dimitrov capitalised on a slow start from the 11th-seeded Hurkacz to race to the opening set at Accor Arena, before staying consistent in the decider to reach the semi-finals in Paris-Bercy for the second time.

“My body is feeling well for now, that’s the most important thing,” said Dimitrov, who also upset third seed Daniil Medvedev this week in Paris. “My head is good. If I’m able to play like that on a consistent basis throughout every game, I put myself in a position to do better.

“Today was no different. A completely different opponent again. Every day you have to adapt, and I’ve been able to do so these four or five days.”

Hurkacz struggled to find his rhythm in the first set but fired eight aces in each of the second and third sets as he threatened a comeback victory on Court Central. A break in the seventh game of the decider ultimately proved enough for Dimitrov to clinch a victory in which he clinically converted both break points he earned.

“I became like a stop sign,” joked Dimitrov. “He caught on fire definitely with the serves. I knew what to expect against him, but I wasn’t sure if I was going to get a break. After the fifth or sixth game in the second set, I was just kind of guessing, but my guesses were all wrong.

“I had to stay very focused and every time I had the opportunity to get into a rally, I had to do something. A few points made a huge difference today.”

40TH WIN OF THE SEASON 🔓🙌

Grigor Dimitrov | #RolexParisMasters pic.twitter.com/1BQASvHStA

— ATP Tour (@atptour) November 3, 2023

With his 94-minute triumph, Dimitrov reached 40 tour-level wins in a season for the first time since 2017, which is also the year he last lifted an ATP Tour crown at the Nitto ATP Finals. The 32-year-old will take on seventh seed Stefanos Tsitsipas or 16th seed Karen Khachanov in the last four in Paris.

Friday’s defeat ended Hurkacz’s hopes of claiming a spot at the Nitto ATP Finals this year. He remains ninth in the Pepperstone ATP Live Race To Turin, but cannot now finish inside the top eight to secure a qualification berth at the prestigious season finale.

Running back into form without a moment to spare, defending champion Holger Rune has given himself the chance to reprise his stunning win over Novak Djokovic last year at the Rolex Paris Masters and boost his chances of qualifying for the Nitto ATP Finals after a key win Thursday night.

The 20-year-old Dane produced a convincing 6-3, 6-3 win over German Daniel Altmaier to charge into the quarter-finals and set another meeting with the World No. 1, whom he denied a seventh Paris title in last year’s final.

Rune’s title run last year left him one place outside the cut for the Nitto ATP Finals, where he served as the alternate. This year he is trying to hang onto the eighth and final place in the Pepperstone ATP Live Race To Turin.

How about Holger tonight? 🌃@RolexPMasters | #RolexParisMasters pic.twitter.com/rqZcATepud

— ATP Tour (@atptour) November 2, 2023

In addition to his 3-6, 6-3, 7-5 win over Djokovic in last year’s final, the World No. 7 defeated the Serbian in three sets in the Rome quarter-finals earlier this year to take a 2-1 lead in the pair’s Lexus ATP Head2Head series.

Against Altmaier, Rune hit 21 winners to just 13 unforced errors. He has not dropped a set this week and has extended his winning streak to eight matches at the tournament, where last year he claimed five consecutive Top 10 victories to win his first ATP Masters 1000 title.

After a hot start to the year that elevated him to a career-high No. 4 in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings, Rune had won just four matches since Wimbledon coming into Paris. But with Boris Becker added to his coaching team, Rune showed promising signs with a run to the Basel semi-finals last week.

Novak Djokovic was on the brink of becoming the latest upset victim at the Rolex Paris Masters on Thursday night. Instead, he battled back from a set down to defeat Tallon Griekspoor and advance to his ninth straight quarter-final at the event.

The Serbian won the final eight points of the match to escape with a 4-6, 7-6(2), 6-4 victory, extending his winning streak to 15 matches and tightening his grip on the No. 1 Pepperstone ATP Ranking. He now leads Carlos Alcaraz — who was upset by Roman Safiullin in his Paris opener — by 670 points in the Pepperstone ATP Live Race To Turin, which serves as a barometer in the battle for year-end No. 1.

Following the match, Djokovic revealed he was struggling with a stomach issue — though he was full of praise for Griekspoor’s effort.

“I don’t want to take anything away from his performance. He didn’t drop the level,” the Serbian said. “Maybe in the third set a few games he did a bit, but he was playing at a very high level and credit to him for that performance. If he would be the winner tonight, it would be absolutely deserved. 

“I started off well but I ran out of steam. I’ve been struggling the last couple of days with my stomach and I just didn’t feel myself at all. I was just trying to hold my serve and get to a tie-break, which happened in the second. I got lucky on a couple of shots there. It could have easily gone his way, but overall I played a good tie-break and I started to feel better in the third. I’m really, really glad to overcome this challenge.”

The result kept Djokovic on course for his record-extending seventh Paris singles title by reaching his 11th quarter-final at the ATP Masters 1000. It’s the Serbian’s 10th quarter-final in 11 events this season, the lone exception a third-round exit in Monte-Carlo.

Griekspoor provided a stern test behind a brilliant serving performance, and stunned the World No. 1 by winning five straight games — including a run of 10 consecutive points — to snatch the opening set from 1-4. Finding joy with his loopy forehand swing, the Dutch No. 1 then created three break points in the second set as he pressed home his advantage.

Djokovic held firm with two big serves to erase break chances at 4-4 and then demonstrated his uncanny ability in tie-breaks with a near-flawless performance to regain control of the centre court showdown. On the season, Djokovic is now 27-5 in tie-breaks according to ATP Infosys Stats, the best record on the ATP Tour.

Griekspoor remained a threat in the final set, breaking for the third time to level the decider at 4-4 before Djokovic snapped back to win the final two games of the match to love.

Next up for Djokovic — the lone top four seed in the quarters — is a meeting with sixth seed Holger Rune or Germany’s Daniel Altmaier. A fourth Lexus ATP Head2Head meeting with Rune would give Djokovic a chance to level their series at 2-2; the Dane beat Djokovic in last year’s Paris final and again this season in the Rome quarters.

Griekspoor moved up two places this week to No. 21 in the Pepperstone ATP Live Rankings, setting himself up to achieve a career high for the second straight week in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings.

Can Nathaniel Lammons and Jackson Withrow ride their red-hot late-season form all the way to the Nitto ATP Finals?

The American pair maintained its push for a debut at the prestigious season finale Thursday at the Rolex Paris Masters, where it overcame rivals Maximo Gonzalez and Andres Molteni 7-5, 7-6(5) to reach the quarter-finals. Lammons and Withrow converted two of the seven break points they earned to clinch their 94-minute triumph and set a last-eight clash with Rajeev Ram and Joe Salisbury.

Lammons and Withrow have lifted four tour-level titles since July (Newport, Atlanta, Winston-Salem, Astana) and their run so far on debut at the ATP Masters 1000 in Paris-Bercy has consolidated them in eighth in the Pepperstone ATP Live Doubles Teams Rankings.

An eighth-place finish won’t be enough for Lammons and Withrow to book a spot at the prestigious season finale this year, however, after Australian Open winners Rinky Hijikata and Jason Kubler’s qualification as the only Grand Slam champions to finish the regular season between eighth and 20th was confirmed earlier on Thursday. Lammons and Withrow therefore need to overhaul Gonzalez and Molteni in seventh to reach Turin — the Argentines are currently 355 points ahead of the Americans.

Wesley Koolhof and Neal Skupski extended their winning streak in Paris-Bercy to five matches by defeating Karen Khachanov and Andrey Rublev 6-4, 7-6(5). The 2022 champions began their title defence by wrapping a 93-minute win to set a quarter-final with Santiago Gonzalez and Edouard Roger-Vasselin, whose Nitto ATP Finals qualification was also confirmed on Thursday.

Harri Heliovaara and Mate Pavic ended Marcelo Arevalo and Jean-Julien Rojer’s chances of reaching Turin for the second straight year. The Finnish-Croatian duo notched a 6-4, 6-4 win against the eighth seeds in Paris, where they will next take on top seeds Ivan Dodig and Austin Krajicek.