Axel May 11:55 a.m., November 01, 2022

The last Masters 1000 of the year started on Monday.

Richard Gasquet won his first match as did Gilles Simon, who is postponing his retirement.

This Tuesday and Wednesday, the world stars take the stage.

And they are particularly numerous this year.

In organizer memory, it had been a long time since the Bercy Masters 1000 (the most prestigious category of tournaments after the Grand Slams) had not posted such a plateau.

The winners of the four Grand Slams of the year are there.

Rafael Nadal, who won the Australian Open and Roland-Garros, but to whom Bercy never succeeded.

Novak Djokovic, who since his incredible expulsion from Melbourne in January, has played where he could, offering himself his 7th Wimbledon in the process.

At Bercy, the Serb holds the record for titles (6 final victories).

And then there is the new world number 1, Carlos Alcaraz, 19, who won the Us Open.

>> Find Europe Matin in replay and podcast here

"For the fans, it's fantastic"

Cédric Pioline, tournament director, smiles: "For the fans, it's fantastic to have this mix between the dominant generation, where the two who remain are Djokovic and Nadal, and this new generation that is coming".

Cédric Pioline specifies: "There are even two generations in fact. There is that of the Medvedevs, Tsitsipas, and then those of the 20 years old […] There is this mix with each his own style, each trying to push, to put nudges to make your place […]. This emulation is great".

The audience responds.

Since with already 158,000 tickets sold throughout the tournament, Paris Bercy has beaten its attendance record which dates back to 2019 (152,000 seats).

Many sessions are sold out.

The public also comes to see the French.

Gilles Simon does not abdicate

>> READ ALSO - 

Gilles Simon retired: where is the next generation of French tennis?

Gilles Simon has even extended the retirement age!

The Niçois is playing the last tournament of his career in Paris.

At almost 37 years old, badly embarked on Monday against the former world number 1 Andy Murray, Gilles Simon won in 3 sets and nearly 3 hours of match in front of the three other Musketeers: Gasquet, Monfils and Tsonga.

The farewell party will wait!