Djokovic recovers to beat Rublev to Paris final
Novak Djokovic will face Grigor Dimitrov in the Paris Masters final coming back from losing the opening set to take down No.5 seed Andrey Rublev in a nervy 5-7 7-6 (7-3) 7-5 semi-final.
The world No.1 is chasing a record-extending seventh title at the ATP Masters 1000 but has not always looked assured in this tournament, his first since winning the US Open in September.
Rublev controlled the first set, taking advantage of eight unforced errors from his Serbian opponent, who required treatment to his lower back after forcing the three-hour and two-minute match into a third set with an ace.
Djokovic, who sealed victory after a double-fault from the Russian, said: “Rublev was suffocating me like a snake suffocates a frog for most of the match.
“He was playing on an extremely high level. I knew that he possesses a great quality but today he played off the charts, honestly. I don’t think I’ve ever faced Rublev this good.
“On the other hand, I was struggling again with my fitness a little bit at the beginning, but I just kind of went through it.”
Saturday’s victory marked the 14th time Djokovic has reached 50 wins in a year and extended his winning streak to 17 matches to reach the 58th Masters 1000 final of his career.
Unseeded semi-finalist Dimitrov, meanwhile, reached just his second ATP Masters 1000 final and first since 2017 with a 6-3 6-7 (1-7) 7-6 (7-3) victory over No.7 seed Stefanos Tsitsipas.
