Jannik Sinner vs Francisco Cerundolo Tips, Prediction & Live Stream - Sinner targets first Paris Masters quarter-final

For various reasons, Sinner has never gone deep at the Paris Masters - he withdrew ahead of the R16 in 2023 and completely skipped the tournament last year, while he also suffered an opening round loss to Carlos Alcaraz in the pair's first ever tour-level meeting in 2021. The Italian has often prioritised the ATP Finals ahead of Paris, but things might be different this time, with Sinner now having the unexpected chance to reclaim the No. 1 ranking from Alcaraz if he wins the title after the Spaniard was knocked out early by Cameron Norrie.

As a result, we might see Sinner more motivated than originally planned. Cerundolo is an unpredictable opponent right now - the Argentine has built up a reputation of troubling the best players in the world with a 15-18 record against top 10 players, while he's beaten Sinner twice before. Indoors might be a different story, but I'll still back Cerundolo to make this competitive enough to push it over 18.5 total games, which he's done in all of their previous encounters.

Sinner leads 3-2. Cerundolo grabbed a famous 6-7 6-2 6-2 win in Rome in 2023 before Sinner emerged with a 7-6 6-3 triumph two years later in the Italian city.

Sinner has put together a 49-6 record on the season, putting his suspension from earlier in the year behind him to add two more Grand Slam titles to his collection.

It's been a difficult year on multiple fronts, with Sinner also experiencing some heartbreaking defeats, most notably the five-set loss to Alcaraz in the French Open final, while he also went down to his main rival in the US Open title match.

The Italian has been struggling with his fitness lately, retiring with cramps in Shanghai and then also battling in the final of Vienna, where he managed to ultimately overcome Alexander Zverev last week.

Now with a chance to take back the No. 1 ranking in Paris this week, Sinner got his campaign off to a solid start by defeating Zizou Bergs 6-4 6-2.

Cerundolo comes into this contest with a 38-23 record on the season and three spots off his career-high ranking of No. 18.

Most of Cerundolo's good work came at the start of the year, where he was matching the likes of Alcaraz and Alex de Minaur for most match wins on tour over the first few months.

However, the Argentine's form has dipped lately - in fact, this is the first time he's won back-to-back matches since the Toronto Masters, an event he had to ultimately retire from.

But Cerundolo has found some form again in Paris, defeating Damir Dzumhur in straights before edging out Miomir Kecmanovic in a deciding set tiebreak. Cerundolo has a brilliant record against top 10 players in Masters 1000 events, going 8-7 against them at this level.