22-time major champion Rafael Nadal is back in action Wednesday evening, competing in his first tournament since the US Open. The Spaniard, who recently became a father, aims to bring home his first Rolex Paris Masters title.

“I am excited to be here,” Nadal said. “I am here to try my best. Hopefully I will be ready for tomorrow [Wednesday], and I’m going to try to be competitive. Let’s see. I am excited about it.”

Nadal kicks off the evening session against American Tommy Paul, who the lefty defeated in the Acapulco quarter-finals earlier this year. Should the 36-year-old be crowned champion this week, he will make up ground on countryman Alcaraz in the battle for year-end No. 1 in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings.

[ATP APP]

Four of the Top-5 seeds are on Wednesday’s bumper card, including World No. 1 Carlos Alcaraz.

Alcaraz, who holds a season-leading five Tour-level titles, begins his quest for his third ATP Masters 1000 crown (Miami & Madrid 2022). The 19-year-old looks to continue his standout season as he takes on Japan’s Yoshihito Nishioka in a second-round clash.

“Since the end of the US Open, my goal has been to try and end the year as World No. 1,” Alcaraz said. “I have two big tournaments ahead, Paris and Turin. I’m going to try and show my best level.”

With the pressure on, Taylor Fritz and Felix Auger-Aliassime hope to keep alive their chances of qualifying for the Nitto ATP Finals for the first time. 

Fritz, who is eighth in the Pepperstone ATP Live Race To Turin, will take on home favourite Gilles Simon, who rallied from a set down to defeat Andy Murray on Monday. The Frenchman, who reached a career-high No. 6 in January 2009 and claimed 14 Tour-level titles, is set to bid farewell to his career this week.

Felix, who boasts a 53-24 match record in 2022, has won four titles this season (Rotterdam, Florence, Antwerp, Basel), all of which have come on indoor hard courts. The Montreal native collected a trio of titles before arriving at the ATP Masters 1000 event in Paris and now the eighth seed looks to continue his hot streak.

[NEWSLETTER FORM]

“For sure I didn’t expect this run [three straight titles],” Felix said. “Day-by-day, things clicked and I was playing better and better. Hopefully this run keeps going.”

Other intriguing second-round matches Wednesday include Stefanos Tsitsipas taking on Daniel Evans, while 2020 Paris champion Daniil Medvedev meets Australian Alex de Minaur. 12th seed Cameron Norrie will close out the evening session on Court Central against French qualifier Corentin Moutet.