Novak Djokovic battles past Andrey Rublev to set up Paris Masters final with Grigor Dimitrov
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 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
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.
