“I’m very proud of this one” – Djokovic champion in Paris for seventh time
Novak Djokovic won his 40th ATP Masters title as he picked up a seventh crown in Paris-Bercy
Novak Djokovic winning the 2023 Rolex Paris Masters | © Federeico Pestellini / Panoramic
Novak Djokovic won his seventh Rolex Paris Masters title, beating unseeded Grigor Dimitrov 6-4, 6-3 – setting multiple records in the process.
It was the 13th meeting between the two, but their first in a final. The Serb began the match knowing that he had won their last nine encounters on the bounce as well as their two previous matches in Paris-Bercy, in the third round in 2016 and in the semi-final in 2019.
And today was no different as the world No 1 extended his current winning streak to18 matches, picking up his 40th ATP Masters 1000 title – the first man to do so. It was his 97th crown on the ATP tour – only Jimmy Connors (109) and Roger Federer (103) are ahead of him.
Djokovic is also the first player to win the Paris-Bercy title after turning 36, and the second man (after Federer) to win multiple Masters titles after that age.
Djokovic sealed the win in just 98 minutes, needing just one break in each set to get the job done – quite unlike the three-set struggles he had faced against Tallon Griekspoor in the round of 16, Holger Rune in the quarter-final, and Andrey Rublev in the semi-final.
Djokovic: Dimitrov was running out of gas a little bit
Although live television was calling, Djokovic’s first task as newly-crowned champion – after changing his shirt – was to embrace his disappointed opponent: “I’ve been in these situations before many times, losing finals,” he told the reporters afterwards. “I really hope that he will continue to play on a high level because he’s been playing some of his best tennis this week.”
He added: “We both were quite tight at the beginning – it seemed he was running out of gas a little bit, myself as well.
“Another amazing win for me – I’m very proud of this one, considering what I’ve been through this week.”
Djokovic – who had already talked this week about his fondness for indoor hard courts – might have a tricky relationship with the Paris crowd, but Paris itself is clearly a place he loves. The title gives him the French capital clean sweep for the second time, winning in Bercy and Roland-Garros in the same season, just as he did two years ago.
Despite his disappointment now, Dimitrov can be happy with his week, having defeated world No 3 Daniil Medvedev and world No 6 Stefanos Tsitsipas en route to the final.
Djokovic is now almost certain to finish the season top of the rankings. He needs only to win one match at the Turin ATP Finals (12-19 November) or Carlos Alcaraz to lose one.
