From the top ten players to the legends of the past, Novak Djokovic hasn’t been kind to his fellow tennis athletes on the court. Therefore, it is not often that an opponent comes by who threatens the 24-time grand slam champion’s dominance on the court.
On Saturday, the Serbian faced a lethal opponent in the semifinals of the Paris Masters, knowing that there were high stakes on the line. In a thrilling encounter, Novak faced a close call for elimination but managed to make a stunning comeback. In the end, he was truly impressed by his opponent’s skill.
Novak Djokovic on Andrey Rublev’s performance
Andrey Rublev and Novak Djokovic had faced each other five times in the past, with the Serbian winning four of them. The Russian’s solitary win was in a tournament in Belgrade, Serbia in 2022 and Djokovic’s home turf. Thus, Djokovic was well aware of his opponent’s capabilities coming into their encounter on Saturday but was in for a surprise when Rublev produced one of his best performances in a long time.
Novak Djokovic was stretched to the limits of exhaustion in his semifinal clash with Andrey Rublev, who matched the Serbian’s offense from shot to shot and even managed to win crucial points during important junctures of their contest. In the end, Novak Djokovic was awestruck by Rublev’s spectacular performance and had words of high praise for the world no. 5.
“Rublev was suffocating me like a snake suffocates a frog for most of the match. He was playing at an extremely high level. I don’t think I’ve ever faced Rublev this good,” Djokovic told Tennis TV after the match.
Rublev was also emotionally and physically exhausted after their encounter and praised Novak’s talent.
“I was playing really great level, I was controlling really good emotions so looks like I’m moving in the right direction and the most important thing is to just keep going this way. No, no, no. I don’t want to play him next time. That’s all I want,” he laughed and replied.
Novak Djokovic reaches Paris Masters 2023 finals
Novak Djokovic reached his second consecutive Paris Masters final after triumphing in a grueling and thrilling encounter with Andrey Rublev. The pair had to battle it out for over three hours in a match that went past midnight, and Djokovic eventually won 5-7, 7-6(3), 7-5.
The match statistics revealed a neck-to-neck battle for the two players, but Novak’s superior service points won (69%) and return points won (32%) eventually dictated the result of the match.
Novak Djokovic is chasing a record-extending seventh title at the ATP Masters 1000, his first since his record-extending title at the US Open. The 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.
He will play unseeded Bulgarian Grigor Dimitrov in the final on Sunday. Grigor saved all four break points he had faced against Stefanos Tsitsipas in the semifinal before triumphing in three sets.
What are your opinions on Novak Djokovic’s record-extending run at the Paris Masters? Will he lift his seventh title in France? Let us know in the comments section below.
