Djokovic survives intense Rublev clash to reach Paris Masters final for ninth time

Novak Djokovic showed his resolve, desire and ability remain undimmed as he battled past Andrey Rublev 5-7, 7-6 (3), 7-5 on Saturday to reach the final of the Rolex Paris Masters for the ninth time.

The world No 1 was never at his best and was fighting a sore back and a powerful opponent but somehow he found a way – as he so often does – to set up a final against Grigor Dimitrov, who ousted Stefanos Tsitsipas earlier in the day.

It wasn’t vintage Djokovic in terms of ball-striking but he simply refused to give up and would not yield to the power of Rublev, who dominated the longer rallies and threatened to end his title hopes. The 36-year-old’s third consecutive three-set victory, this one taking exactly three hours, means he now has the chance for a seventh Paris title and he cemented his hold on the No 1 ranking.

“Just having a little more time and space to hit the ball because Rublev was suffocating me like a snake suffocates a frog for most of the match,” Djokovic said, when asked what the difference was in the end.

“He was playing on an extremely high level. I knew he possesses a high quality but today he was off the charts, I don’t think I’ve ever faced him that good.

“I was struggling a bit physically. It was crucial to win the second set, I found great serves. In the third set, I felt I was always there in his service games, he came up with some big serves when he needed to but I think I deserved it considering the amount of fight and effort I put in.

“I had the same feelings yesterday and the day before to be honest, I wasn’t feeling well. I kept going, believing, playing point after point, waiting for the opportunities. Happy I found a way to win.”

Rublev sharp despite late finish the night before

Though he was broken in the first game, Rublev looked on his game, despite having finished his semi-final against Alex de Minaur at 1am.

The first six games of the match took 33 minutes as both men battled to hold onto their serves. Rublev was putting the world No 1 under intense pressure due to the power of his groundstrokes and Djokovic’s backhand was unusually vulnerable.

After an early break each, Rublev had three chances to break Djokovic at 4-3, 0-40 but the Serb came up with some good serving to get himself out of trouble. Rublev kept calm, holding to love in the next game and then had 0-30 in the next Djokovic game, only for the world No 1 to again escape.

At 5-6, a brilliant off-backhand return set up a first set point and it was all he needed as Djokovic dumped a drop shot, landing short of the net, as the Russian moved ahead, the first time he’s taken the first set against him on hard courts.

Djokovic levels in second-set tiebreak

Djokovic had to save a break point at 1-0 down to stay on serve in the second set and slowly but surely, the 24-times Grand Slam champion worked his way into the match.

Cutting down the errors, particularly on the backhand side, he had 0-40 on the Rublev serve but the Russian dug deep to hold for 3-2. Rublev saved another break point at 3-3 but couldn’t take it and the set headed towards a tiebreak.

In the tiebreak, Djokovic moved ahead 4-2 and held the advantage to level.

Djokovic takes MTO but gets the job done

Djokovic took a lengthy bathroom break and followed it with a medical timeout as he had a rub-down for what looked to be a sore back.

In total, more than 12 minutes passed between the end of the second set and the start of the third. Rublev saved a couple of break points early on but in general, both men were confident on serve.

Serving to stay in the match at 4-5, Rublev found himself 0-30 down thanks to two big points from Djokovic. But the Russian showed his resolve yet again as he held to level.

Pressure told in the end, though, and after going 0-30 down again at 5-6, Djokovic found the baseline with a backhand and Rublev then double-faulted for only the second time in the match to hand the world No 1 victory.

Rublev: “I’m moving in the right direction”

Rublev said he felt like he was continuing to improve and had plenty to look forward to as he prepares for the ATP Finals in Turin.

“I feel like it’s been a great week,” he said. “I was playing really great all week long, I was controlling my emotions so it looks like I am moving in the right direction, and the most important I think is to keep going this way.

“Two or three shots decided the match. The second set I led 5-4 and 6-5, 0-30 but I missed it, once he had 6-5 he made it and I missed, so yes, just three shots.”

Djokovic ready for tough Dimitrov clash

Djokovic leads Dimitrov 11-1 from their 12 meetings but the world No 1 said he expected a tough challenge on Sunday.

“He is powerful, quick, he goes to the net, he is aggressive, has a great serve, a great slice, mixing up very well, quick to defend and great in transition, he is a very complete player,” Djokovic said.

“Not surprised that he is in the final. It’s good challenge when we meet each other. Four years ago we had an extraordinary semi-final. I’m not surprised by his level.”

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