Novak Djokovic battles past Andrey Rublev to set up Paris Masters final with Grigor Dimitrov
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Updated 04/11/2023 at 22:04 GMT
Novak Djokovic has won the Paris Masters on six previous occasions, and he will have the chance to make it seven on Sunday after edging out Andrey Rublev in the semi-finals. It was a tough test for the Serbian, who needed three sets to see off his opponent. His opponent in the final in the French capital will be Grigor Dimitrov, who edged out Stefanos Tsitsipas.
Djokovic survives Rublev scare to reach another final in Paris
Novak Djokovic’s quest for a seventh Paris Masters crown remains on track following a battling win over Andrey Rublev in the semi-finals.
In his first tournament since winning the US Open in September, Djokovic has not been at his best in the French capital.
But he has found ways to win, and did so again as he battled from a set down to secure a 5-7 7-6(3) 7-5 victory.
Rublev was the better player early on, and looked confident of securing only his second win over the world No. 1 after taking the opening set.
The second set was tight, as Rublev fended off break points in the fifth game, aided by a net cord at 30-40.
Djokovic was involved in a lengthy exchange with the chair umpire in the 11th game of the second set over a call that did not go his way, much to the amusement of a Paris crowd which had sparred with the Serbian for much of the week.
Djokovic held serve as the second set went to a tie-break, which he took control of early on after Rublev threw a backhand into the net to hand his opponent a mini-break.
It probably feels like taking on a brick wall when facing Djokovic, and Rublev got a taste of that on the sixth point of the breaker. A brilliant backhand return of serve would have done for most players, but Djokovic got it back and continued to astonish the crowd with his brilliant defence and threw up his arms in celebration when Rublev sent a backhand over the baseline.
Djokovic went from defence to attack a couple of points later, as a brilliant crosscourt return for a clean winner brought up set point and an ace took the match into a decider.
Despite seemingly having momentum with him, Djokovic called the trainer at the end of the second set and had work done on his back.
Following treatment, Djokovic opened up the final set with a love hold.
He never looked in trouble, and squandered a number of chances to break. But in the 12th game he got the job done, as Rublev smashed his racquet into the ground in frustration after surrendering the match with a double fault.
Dimitrov edges out Tsitsipas
Djokovic will take on Grigor Dimitrov in the final following his 6-3 6-7(1) 7-6(3) win over Stefanos Tsitsipas.
After some time in the doldrums, Dimitrov has been in a bright period of form and he showed silk and steel to get past Tsitsipas to reach his first ATP Masters 1000 final since 2017.
It was an arm wrestle throughout and it came as little surprise when it boiled down to a breaker in the decider.
Dimitrov got ahead early with a fine serve and two mini-breaks of the Tsitsipas serve.
At the end of his career, a jaw-droppingly impressive showreel of Dimitrov crosscourt backhands is begging to be made - and he produced a contender for the package go 5-0 to the good.
To hammer home the need for a showreel, Dimitrov repeated the dose on match point as he ripped a backhand crosscourt pass to wrap up the win.
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