Paris upset day: Zverev and Djokovic fall as Alcaraz survives

A day of upsets in Nanterre

The second round of the Rolex Paris Masters turned into a day of upsets at the Plenitude Arena in Nanterre on 4 November 2026. World No. 1 Alexander Zverev lost his first match since reaching the top of the rankings, seven-time champion Novak Djokovic was beaten by a qualifier, and three more seeded players fell before the night session ended. Only second seed Carlos Alcaraz, among the day's biggest names, held his nerve. The results also reshaped the race for the season-ending ATP Finals in Turin, ending Djokovic's hopes and leaving Alex de Minaur's in tatters while confirming Arthur Fils as the first Frenchman to reach the event in a decade. This was a new story, not a repeat of the previous day: Djokovic had beaten Valentin Vacherot in the first round on Tuesday, and Wednesday's defeat came one round later, against a different opponent.

Zverev's first match as No. 1 ends in defeat

Zverev had climbed to No. 1 on Monday, but his first match in the position ended in a 7-6 (5), 6-2 defeat to Lorenzo Musetti, ranked 24th in the world. Musetti took the opening set in a tiebreak and then took command of the second, and Zverev was blunt about his own performance afterwards. "Yeah, I was bad. It's quite simple," Zverev said. "This was not a very good match for me, I think maybe one of the worst in the last couple of months." The statistics told the same story: Musetti hit 29 winners to Zverev's 25 and made only 12 unforced errors to Zverev's 21, clinching victory with an ace. Zverev had already secured his place at the ATP Finals, so the defeat cost him a title chance in Paris rather than a place in Turin. For Musetti, it was a fourth win in six career meetings with Zverev.

Djokovic loses control against Hijikata

Djokovic followed Zverev out of the tournament, losing 2-6, 6-3, 6-3 to qualifier Rinky Hijikata, the world No. 83. The 10th-seeded Djokovic, a record seven-time Paris champion, looked in control after taking the first set, but he lost three straight games from 3-3 in the second set and was broken again in the deciding set before a backhand landed wide on the final point. Hijikata hit 41 winners and repeatedly came forward to trouble the former world No. 1. Djokovic had needed to reach the semi-finals to keep any chance of qualifying for the ATP Finals, so the defeat ended both his bid for an eighth Paris title and his Turin hopes. Afterwards, he was asked about his plans for the coming weeks. "Just rest," Djokovic told reporters in the mixed zone. "I'm looking forward to it." Hijikata moves on to face Tomas Martin Etcheverry for a place in the quarter-finals.

Alcaraz avoids the upset trend

Alcaraz avoided the fate of his rivals, beating Alex Michelsen 7-6 (4), 6-3 in the night session. The second seed overcame a slow start, took a tight opening set in a tiebreak and then pulled away in the second, extending his winning streak to six matches. He will next face Matteo Berrettini, who beat Ugo Humbert 7-6 (3), 7-5 in his own second-round match. With Zverev and Djokovic gone, Alcaraz is now the highest-ranked player left in the tournament, but Paris has already shown how quickly that status can change, and Berrettini will test him on the fast indoor court that Zverev himself described as very, very fast.

More seeds fall, and Fils reaches Turin

The upsets did not stop with the top two names. Fourth seed Daniil Medvedev lost 6-4, 6-4 to Ignacio Buse of Peru, the biggest win of the unseeded player's career, while seventh seed Frances Tiafoe wasted four match points in a 6-3, 1-6, 7-6 (9) defeat to Frenchman Quentin Halys. Tomas Martin Etcheverry beat eighth seed Alex de Minaur 7-6 (2), 6-3, leaving de Minaur's Turin hopes for a third straight year in tatters; a win would have moved de Minaur past Rafael Jodar into the last qualifying place. Tiafoe's defeat had a consequence beyond his own exit: it guaranteed Arthur Fils a place at the ATP Finals, making him the first Frenchman to reach the event since Gael Monfils in 2016. Fils then closed the day in style, beating qualifier Tomas Machac 6-3, 7-6 (4) without facing a break point, holding all 11 of his service games and winning 92 percent of his first-serve points. He will next face 11th seed Taylor Fritz in the third round.

What the upsets mean

One day in Nanterre has therefore changed two races at once. The Paris title is now open in a way few expected, with Alcaraz the last of the tournament's biggest names standing. The Turin field is also clearer: Djokovic is out and de Minaur's direct route is closed, and the remaining places will be decided by the players still alive in Paris. For Zverev, the task is to treat a poor day as an exception rather than a verdict on his new ranking. For Djokovic, the season appears to be over on his own terms, with rest rather than regret as his stated plan. For Musetti, Hijikata, Buse, Halys and Etcheverry, Wednesday was proof that, on an indoor court in November, reputation counts for far less than the next point.