By Richard Pagliaro | Friday, November 2, 2018
Novak Djokovic rallied from a break down in the decider defeating Marin Cilic, 4-6, 6-2, 6-3, for his 21st consecutive victory.
Photo credit: Christopher Levy
Sometime practice partners Novak Djokovic and Marin Cilic speak the same language.
In an engaging Paris duel, Djokovic delivered the final word.
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Staging a spirited rally from a break down in the decider, Djokovic edged Cilic, 4-6, 6-2, 6-3, extending his winning streak to 21 matches to surge into the Paris semifinals.
"It was a very close match," Djokovic said. "It went all the way to the last shot, basically. I mean, a couple of decisive points in the third were the one that you mentioned and probably the break of serve at 4-3, I managed to find the passing shot.
"It was very intense match and I think it was a good quality tennis as well from both of us. We tried hard and he was playing well. I was kind of going up and down. I thought I could have maybe served better, and especially second serve. But, again, at the end of the day it's a win and I'm really pleased to overcome this kind of challenge."
The four-time Paris champion will face either third-seeded Roger Federer or 10th-seeded Kei Nishikori for a spot in Sunday's final.
It is Djokovic's seventh semifinal of the season and it didn't come easy.
Djokovic, who will supplant Rafael Nadal as world No. 1 for the first time in two years on Monday, was down 2-1 in the final set and spiked his racquet to the court in frustration.
Afterward, Djokovic revealed he's been battling "kind of a flu" and trying to manage energy expenditures.
"I'm still struggling. It's kind of a flu," Djokovic said. "It's not easy to perform every single day. The energy levels are not as high. And I try to manage the situation. But I've had this particular case before so I hope I can, you know, progress day by day."
A stubborn Djokovic drilled a pulsating backhand pass down the line denying break point in the seventh game of the decider. That shot sparked Djokovic, who won five of the final six games, beating Cilic for the 16th time in 18 meetings.
Though the Serbian's streak of 30 consecutive sets won was snapped, Djokovic played dynamic tennis down the stretch improving to 48-10 on the season to move to within two victories of his fifth title of 2018.
A lopsided head-to-head supports Djokovic's dominance of this rivalry though Cilic turned the tide in Paris two years ago. Djokovic carried a 14-0 record against the Croatian, including a 6-0, 6-1, 6-2, shellacking at the 2015 US Open, into the city of light. Cilic surprised Djokovic, 6-4, 7-6 (2), for his first-ever win over the Serbian in Paris.
The 2014 US Open champion saved a championship point toppling Djokovic in the Queen's Club final in June. Since that setback, Djokovic has suffered just one loss to Stefanos Tsitsipas at the Rogers Cup in August.
A dodgy overhead and damaging Cilic return forced Djokovic to face break point in the fifth game.
The second seed skimmed a crosscourt forehand off the tape to tame trouble, holding for 3-2.
Confronting the Serbian's sniper return, Cilic knew he had to go big and bold on serve. The bearded Cilic fended off three break points pounding an ace and serve winner to cap an adventurous eight-minute hold to level.
Bending the ball into the corners, Djokovic redirected some shots on the stretch saving a break point in holding for 4-3.
The rangy Croatian gave Djokovic a dose of his own counter-strike brilliance flicking a stretched forehand pass and celebrating with a fist pump. For the third straight game Cilic earned a break point.
This time, he converted. Djokovic sprayed a shot giving Cilic the first break and a 5-4 lead.
The Queen's Club champion charged through a love hold to snatch the 50-minute opener snapping Djokovic's career-best streak of 30 straight sets won.
It was the first time the US Open champion surrendered a set since his second-round US Open win over Tennys Sandgren in August.
Sliding a retun down the line, Djokovic earned triple break point in the fourth game of the second set. On the third break point, Cilic pushed a two-hander into net as Djokovic jumped out to a 3-1 lead.
Extending the lead efficiently, Djokovic raced through the second set to force the decider.
Cilic kept applying pressure just as he did in London five months ago. When Djokovic catapulted his fifth double fault off the tape, Cilic earned break points in the third game.
Running right, Cilic swept a clean forehand pass that eluded Djokovic for the break and a 2-1 lead.
That break led to a crack-up as an irate Djokovic tomahawked his Head racquet to the court.
It's not a break, of course, until you hold to back it up.
Stretching for every ball an elastic Djokovic drained errors breaking right back to level after four games.
Summoning some magic from the alley helped Djokovic hold the lead. On break point, Cilic attacked behind a damaging diagonal forehand and seemed to be in prime position for a volley.
A creative Djokovic had other ideas.
Sliding into the doubles alley, Djokovic dug out a backhand pass down the line, denying the break point. That superb stab helped him hold for 4-3.
The pass propelled Djokovic and rattled Cilic.
In the next game, the four-time champion cranked a crosscourt forehand pass scoring his second break of the set for 5-3.
When Cilic put a backhand into net, Djokovic was through in two hours, 11 minutes.
Drained a bit by the flu, Djokovic remains determined to celebrate his return to the top claiming his first Paris title since 2015 and taking a major step toward securing the year-end No. 1 ranking.
"This tournament is big, is important, and I still haven't accomplished the mission to be the year-end No. 1," Djokovic said. "So, I mean, it's still up for grabs. So I'm looking forward to compete and to, you know, hopefully get a chance to clinch that No. 1 spot in the end of the year and the end of the season. That's the goal."