Grigor Dimitrov's eyes will have lit up before his second-round match with Tomas Martin Etcheverry at the Paris Masters on Wednesday.
Andrey Rublev's shock round-two exit to Francisco Cerundolo, a setback for the Russian in the race to next month's ATP Finals, means a deep run for the Bulgarian player in Paris could aid his ambition to play in Turin.
Match preview
© Imago
The race to be one of the eight players to participate in the year-end Finals intensified on Tuesday after Rublev exited at the first hurdle.
That outcome has given players like Dimitrov — 10th in the Live Rankings — hope of supplanting the player in eighth, and the Bulgarian aims to avoid an upset.
Hoping to secure a spot in the ATP Finals for the second time, the world No.10 returns to Paris after a recent loss in Vienna, aiming to match his strong performance from last year's tournament, where he reached the final.
The 33-year-old progressed to the championship match last year before losing to Novak Djokovic, and a similar run 12 months on undoubtedly improves his qualification prospects.
With Dimitrov trailing Rublev by 600 points in the Live Rankings and 700 back of an out-of-form Casper Ruud in seventh, the nine-time ATP Tour champion's chances could hinge on his results this week.
© Imago
He is the undoubted favourite against Etcheverry, who overcame Zhang Zhizhen 6-3, 7-6(6) in his tournament opener.
The Argentine player improved to 30-27 for the year after that first-round triumph, although his win-loss record shows he has barely pulled up trees on the tour this year.
He entered the Paris Masters after first-round exits in Basel last week and a second-round elimination in Antwerp the week before, highlighting his underwhelming results before facing Dimitrov.
Despite his underdog tag before facing the Bulgarian, Etcheverry can take encouragement from his last Masters 1000 match in Shanghai, where he threatened an upset against Jannik Sinner by taking the first set tie-break before succumbing in three.
That shows that the world No. 40 player can be competitive against top-10 opponents, even if he has yet to record a career triumph against one, a statistic he aims to change against his experienced opponent.
Tournament so far
Grigor Dimitrov:
First round: Bye
Tomas Martin Etcheverry:
First round: vs. Zhang Zhizhen 6-3 7-6(6)
Head To Head
Dimitrov is the favourite heading into his first ATP Tour meeting with Etcheverry.
The Argentine's 0-12 record against top-10 players emphasises the 25-year-old's struggles against that elite group.
We say: Dimitrov to win in two sets
Wednesday's outcome will be contingent on Dimitrov staying healthy, although the No. 10's standard level should prove too much for Etcheverry to handle as he bids for another deep run in Paris.
