Unsinkable Novak Djokovic. Tossed around, mistreated by Stefanos Tsitsipas, the Serb managed to pass between the drops to qualify for his eighth final of the Rolex Paris Masters (6-2, 3-6, 7-6 (4) in 2h20′). Sunday, he will try to win a 39th success in the Masters 1000, of which he is already the record holder for victories.
In the first set, however, we seemed to be heading for a new lone rider from No. 7 at ATP, like his demonstration on Friday evening in the quarter-finals against Musetti. Imperial on his serve, especially behind his first ball, the man with 21 Grand Slams did not have to overplay to dominate his subject (6-2).
But a bit like against the Italian, the machine went slightly wrong at the start of the second set, with a few unforced errors, a break quickly conceded at 1-1 and some signs of irritation. Almost a small event to see the Djoker concede a set (6-3). Since his recovery post-American tour (which he was deprived of due to non-vaccination), the Belgradois had won two tournaments (Tel-Aviv and Astana against… Tsitsipas) without missing a single round. Ditto until then on his Parisian career.
In the third set of his 74th Masters 1000 semi-final, Djokovic had twice the opportunity to break away (two break points at 1-1, two others at 4-4), stumbling on the first ball of the n ° 5 worldwide.
“Rune reminds me of me when I was younger”
“I started as well as in my quarter-final, summarizes Djokovic. There was clarity in what I had to do and I executed it perfectly. Afterwards he went to get the public and the match changed. I made a poor serve game that I lost, and he felt better, more confident, he made fewer mistakes and I had more trouble reading his serve. In the third set, I still had a lot of chances. I was a bit short of breath and energy but there were some very exciting points and great tennis for the crowd and for us. We pushed ourselves to the limit and it became obvious that it was going to be decided at the last moment, in the last points because both deserved the victory. »
In this undecided standoff until the end, Tsitsipas will probably go back to the decisive game for a long time to offer a match point to his rival. After patiently building up his rally, the Greek got the wrong side when closing, then missing an easy volley. The kind of gift that should not be given to such an opponent, happy to finish with an easy smash at the next point.
On Sunday, Djokovic will face the surprising Dane Holger Rune, 19, a solid winner of the Canadian Félix Auger-Aliassime (6-4, 6-2) and who is playing… his first Bercy. A world separates them…
“I really appreciate it a lot, slips the master of the Accor Arena. He’s young, he doesn’t have much to lose, he gets into the ball, I saw him play today and yesterday was impressive. He reminds me of me when I was younger, solid backhand, big defense, who doesn’t give up a point and leaves his heart and his legs on the court. It’s beautiful to see, and good for our sport in general…”