The Baseline Top 5: French performers at the Paris Masters

Rien ne vaut son chez soi.

That’s a sentiment that the Frenchmen who played this year at the Paris Masters can relate to: There’s no place like home. There were some strong showings among France’s top players in singles and doubles, following a pattern established over the years: Someone will always be in the mix, to the delight of the home crowd. Here’s a look at some of the top performances in Paris under the roof.

1

Double the Glory

The 2019 regular season was an interesting one for Nicolas Mahut and Pierre-Hugues Herbert. The French duo won the Australian Open to complete the career Grand Slam, but took an extended break as Herbert decided to focus on singles. They’ve reunited this fall and in their last tournament before the ATP Finals, just won the title in Paris, defeating Karen Khachanov and Andrey Rublev in the final. It’s their seventh career Masters title together—and perhaps personally, their most significant.

2

Unforgettable Forget

Making his debut in the Top 10 at the age of 27, 1991 was a breakout campaign for Guy Forget. Heading into the last event of the regular season, the Frenchman had already won five titles on the year. He added a sixth in Bercy as he topped American Pete Sampras in a five-set final. He has since served as the tournament director since 2012.

3

Tsonga Triumphant

Jo-Wilfried Tsonga started 2008 by storming his way to the Australian Open final, the first Grand Slam championship showing of his career. A knee injury hindered his progress for several months, but he heated back up in the fall: first by winning the Thailand Open, then following that up with the title in Paris, which helped him clinch a spot in the season-ending championships.

4

Monfils’ Consecutive Final

Gael Monfils had a shot at reaching this year’s ATP Finals, but fell just short in Paris after losing to eventual runner-up Denis Shapovalov in the quarterfinals. Still, it was a solid run, and it almost appeared he was going to replicate his accomplishments of 2009 and 2010, when the always-entertaining Monfils reached the final in consecutive years.

5

Benneteau’s Run

With his career reaching its final stages, Julien Benneteau—who reached 10 singles finals around the world, but never won a title in that discipline—made an inspired run through the Paris draw in 2017. On his way to the semifinals, he defeated Shapovalov, Tsonga, and top-tenners David Goffin and Marin Cilic before eventual champion Jack Sock stopped his run.

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