At the Paris Masters, Novak Djokovic remains the master par excellence.
In a battle of “the 30-plus Gen”, as Djokovic styled it, the world No 1 brought a challenging week to a triumphant conclusion, defeating Grigor Dimitrov 6-4, 6-3 to claim a record-extending seventh title on the outskirts of the French capital.
It will be of little comfort to the chasing pack that the Serb was able to secure his 40th Masters 1000 crown without ever being at his very best. Over the course of a challenging week, Djokovic struggled with a stomach virus and a lower-back injury, and frequently found himself at loggerheads with the Parisian crowd. He was forced to battle through a trio of three-setters to make his ninth final in Bercy, seeing off Tallon Griekspoor, Holger Rune and Andrey Rublev, but against Dimitrov the 24-time grand slam champion proved too solid, making just four unforced errors to his opponent’s 16, and converting three of four break points.
“A very challenging week,” said Djokovic. “I think also off the court, dealing with the stomach virus, which really took a lot of energy out of me. But somehow I managed to find this extra energy when it was most needed, particularly in the days of Thursday, Friday, and Saturday, where I was probably closer to losing these matches than winning.
“Considering what happened in the last six, seven days, this win is definitely one of [my] most special wins in the Masters 1000 category.
“Did I play my best tennis? I don’t think I played my best tennis. In every match, my level was not to the level that I normally would play the biggest tournaments. But it’s one of those weeks where you just have to accept the circumstances and fight to survive another day.”
For Dimitrov, it was an afternoon when delight gave way to despair. On Saturday, the Bulgarian leapt with joy after defeating Stefanos Tsitsipas to reach his first Masters 1000 final since 2017, when he was crowned champion in Cincinnati. But the former world No 3 struggled to reproduce that form against Djokovic, and afterwards he sat weeping into a towel, perhaps conscious that, at the age of 32, another such opportunity may be a long time coming.
Such thoughts could not be further from the mind of Djokovic, who will head into the season-ending ATP Finals, which begin a week from now in Turin, on a run of 18 consecutive wins. This was his sixth title of the season, drawing him level with Carlos Alcaraz, and the 97th tournament win of his career, further consolidating his hold on third place in the all-time winners’ list, behind Roger Federer (103) and Jimmy Connors (109). The win was also his 10th in a row against Dimitrov, who is unlikely to be the last man reduced to tears by the Serb.
There was a touch of class from Djokovic afterwards as he abruptly broke off from a live TV interview to comfort his distraught friend.
“It’s difficult to explain emotions,” said Dimitrov, whose season has ended in resurgent style after he reached the last eight in Beijing and the semi-finals of the Shanghai Masters last month.
“You want it; it’s tough when it doesn’t happen. Without feeling sorry for myself, only I know what I’ve gone through the past months on and off the court.
“Those are happy tears, I don’t want to have them as something negative. I’m human, after all… In the end, I was so close to making something that I wanted to do for such a long time.”
In a final that brought together the two oldest players in the top 20, Djokovic was clinically efficient. In the seventh game, he converted the only break point of the opening set, a lunging backhand return drawing an unforced error from the 17th-ranked Dimitrov. Serving at 5-4, Djokovic resisted a late surge from the Bulgarian to complete an eight-minute hold. When Dimitrov sent a backhand long to concede a second break in the fifth game of the second set, there would be no way back.
“The way he’s competing on the court is on a completely different level,” said Dimitrov. “When it comes to those clutch matches, he’s always been able to maximize his game and put you in uncomfortable situations. Today, I think he executed a lot of points and games in a very good way.”
In a season that has brought victory at three of the four majors, and just a single defeat from 33 matches on hard courts, Djokovic’s mastery of that art appears stronger than ever.