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Novak Djokovic and Grigor Dimitrov will go head to head for the twelfth time on Sunday at the Rolex Paris Masters after both men booked their spots in Sunday’s showpiece at the Accor Hotels Arena.
Dimitrov was the first man to progress into the final, maintaining the excellent level of tennis he’s displayed this week to defeat Stefanos Tstisipas in a third-set tiebreak.
Novak Djokovic then completely the lineup with a hard-fought victory over Andrey Rublev, featuring Djokovic’s legendary ability to stick around in matches when not feeling or playing his best.
Heading into the final, Djokovic owns a dominant 11-1 H2H record against Dimitrov and has not lost to him since 2013, meaning the Bulgarian will have to summon something special on Sunday to list his second Masters 1000 crown.
Paris Masters 2023 Semi-Final Results
| Winner | Loser | Scoreline |
|---|---|---|
| Novak Djokovic (1) | Andrey Rublev (5) | 5-7 7-6(3) 7-5 |
| Grigor Dimitrov | Stefanos Tsitsipas (7) | 6-3 6-7(1) 7-6(3) |
Dimitrov Tops Tsitsipas
Grigor Dimitrov is into his 2nd career Masters 1000 final thanks to a 6-3, 6-7(1), 7-6(3) over 7th seed Stefanos Tsitsipas.
The Bulgarian last tasted the showpiece at the Masters 1000 level over six years ago when he lifted the title in Cincinnati, but in recent weeks, he’s produced some of his best tennis in recent memory, and it’s paying off.
His win against Tsitsipas was hard-fought and could have gone either way, but he played a more free-flowing third-set tiebreak and capitalised on some somewhat optimistic approach shots from Tstisipas to leave him stranded at the net.
I am just happy I was able to get through that match in such a manner. After that second set, especially the tie-break, it was getting very tricky again. 15/40 down in the third again and I was just thinking it can’t keep going like this, so I have to change something. In order to beat someone like him I just had to step through. That is the only thing I could have done. Throughout the match I felt I was doing a lot of good things and in the middle of the second set he picked up his game and in the end I waited for the tie-break. Dimitrov on his hard earned win over Tsitsipas.
Match Stats
| Grigor Dimitrov | Stefanos Tstisipas | |
|---|---|---|
| Aces | 6 | 12 |
| Double Faults | 2 | 1 |
| 1st Serve Percentage | 67% | 0.69 |
| 1st Serve Points Won | 78% (51/65) | 73% (51/70) |
| 2nd Serve Points Won | 78% (25/32) | 69% (22/32) |
| Break Points Saved | 100% (4/4) | 80% (4/5) |
| 1st Return Points Won | 27% (19/70) | 22% (14/65) |
| 2nd Return Points Won | 31% (10/32) | 22% (7/32) |
| Break Points Converted | 20% (1/5) | 0% (0/4) |
| Winners | 42 | 31 |
| Unforced Errors | 10 | 13 |
| Net Points Won | 92% (24/26) | 63% (17/27) |
| Max Points In Row | 7 | 6 |
| Service Points Won | 78% (76/97) | 72% (73/102) |
| Return Points Won | 28% (29/102) | 22% (21/97) |
| Total Points Won | 53% (105/199) | 47% (94/199) |
| Max Games In Row | 3 | 1 |
| Service Games Won | 100% (17/17) | 94% (15/16) |
| Return Games Won | 6% (1/16) | 0% (0/17) |
| Total Games Won | 55% (18/33) | 45% (15/33) |
Highlights
Djokovic Denies Rublev
While Grigor is into his second Masters 1000 final, Djokovic is into his 58th after another lengthy tussle, this time with Andrey Rublev.
The Serb looked lacklustre for large parts of the match but pulled out the second set tiebreak and then turned the screw late in the third set to record a 5-7 7-6(3) 7-5 victory in 3 hours and 2 minutes.
Despite breaking Rublev in the opening game of the match, Djokovic’s steady baseline game wasn’t firing at the Accor Hotels Arena as he dropped the first set 5-7.
Rublev then had a 0-15 window when leading 5-4 in the second set, but the six-time Bercy champion upped his level in the tiebreak and maintained that level into the third despite needing treatment on his lower back during the set changeover.
From there, Djokovic’s level steadily increased, and Rublev, while resilient, wasn’t able to find that extra gear or area of success to get him over the line as the world number one broke decisively in game twelve to move into his ninth Paris Masters final.
I was struggling with my fitness again a little bit at the beginning, but I kind of went through it. “It was crucial obviously to win the second set. The tie-break, I served very well and that helped. In the third set, I thought I was always there in his service games, having chances. He came up with some big serves when he needed to, but in the end, a double fault. An unfortunate ending for him, but I think I deserved it considering the amount of effort and fight I put in, especially in the third. Djokovic on his fatigued looking performance.
Match Stats
| Novak Djokovic | Andrey Rublev | |
| Aces | 17 | 16 |
| Double Faults | 5 | 2 |
| 1st Serve Percentage | 67% | 0.69 |
| 1st Serve Points Won | 73% (58/79) | 73% (56/77) |
| 2nd Serve Points Won | 59% (23/39) | 57% (20/35) |
| Break Points Saved | 67% (4/6) | 75% (6/8) |
| 1st Return Points Won | 27% (21/77) | 27% (21/79) |
| 2nd Return Points Won | 43% (15/35) | 41% (16/39) |
| Break Points Converted | 25% (2/8) | 33% (2/6) |
| Winners | 40 | 51 |
| Unforced Errors | 15 | 13 |
| Net Points Won | 90% (9/10) | 69% (9/13) |
| Max Points In Row | 7 | 6 |
| Service Points Won | 69% (81/118) | 68% (76/112) |
| Return Points Won | 32% (36/112) | 31% (37/118) |
| Total Points Won | 51% (117/230) | 49% (113/230) |
| Max Games In Row | 3 | 3 |
| Service Games Won | 89% (16/18) | 89% (16/18) |
| Return Games Won | 11% (2/18) | 11% (2/18) |
| Total Games Won | 50% (18/36) | 50% (18/36) |
Highlights
2023 Rolex Paris Master Final
- Novak Djokovic (1) vs Grigor Dimitrov
Who will take home the Rolex Paris Masters trophy for 2023? Let me know in the comments.
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