Paris, France, 1 November 2021 | Leigh Rogers

Five Australians feature in main draw action at this week’s Paris Masters, the final ATP Masters 1000 tournament of the season.

Alex de Minaur leads the Aussie charge in the men’s singles competition, facing US Open quarterfinalist Lloyd Harris in the opening round.

James Duckworth and John Millman have also been handed difficult draws, pitted against No.14 seed Roberto Bautista Agut and No.11 seed Diego Schwartzman respectively.

Alexei Popyrin’s bid to join them in the main draw has fallen just short, losing to top-seeded American Tommy Paul in three sets in the final qualifying round overnight.

World No.54-ranked Paul scored a 4-6 6-4 6-3 victory, saving 16 of the 21 break points he faced in the two-hour and 19-minute match.

John Peers and Slovak partner Filip Polasek receive an opening-round bye in the doubles competition. Currently sitting 10th in the race to the ATP Finals, they are hoping for a deep run to secure one of the final places in the prestigious eight-team season-ending championships.

De Minaur and partner Luke Saville play Serbian wildcards Novak Djokovic and Filip Krajinovic in the first round. World No.1 Djokovic is contesting his first tournament since his US Open final loss in September.

Aussies in action – Paris

RESULTS
Men’s qualifying singles, first round
[1] Tommy Paul (USA) d [13] Alexei Popyrin (AUS) 4-6 6-4 6-3

COMING UP
Men’s singles, first round
Alex de Minaur (AUS) v Lloyd Harris (RSA)
James Duckworth (AUS) v [14] Roberto Bautista Agut (ESP)
John Millman (AUS) v [11] Diego Schwartzman (ARG)

Men’s doubles, first round
[6] John Peers (AUS)/Filip Polasek (SVK) v Bye
Alex de Minaur (AUS)/Luke Saville (AUS) v [WC] Novak Djokovic (SRB)/Filip Krajinovic (SRB)