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By Richard Pagliaro | Saturday, November 5, 2022

 
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Defending champion Novak Djokovic won the final four points of the tiebreaker topping Stefanos Tsitsipas 6-2, 3-6, 7-6(4) to score his 12th straight win in Paris.

Photo credit: Julian Finney/Getty

Late in the decisive tiebreaker, Stefanos Tsitsipas had Novak Djokovic right where he wanted him—lunging and vulnerable behind the baseline.

Exerting the body control of a contortionist, Djokovic dug out a staggering over the shoulder forehand to extend the point before bulleting a backhand for match points.

More: Rune Advances, Alcaraz Retires

Even when the defending champion was off-balance on defense, he produced an artistic answer to subdue Tsitsipas and quiet French fans.

Striking with precision, Djokovic won the final four points of the tiebreaker, topping Tsitsipas 6-2, 3-6, 7-6(4) in the Rolex Paris Masters semifinals to charge into his record-extending 56th Masters final.




It is Djokovic's 12th straight win in Paris and 12th consecutive win on the season and it came in a pulsating finish that saw Djokovic overcome both a tough Tsitsipas and vocal Paris fans. Djokovic defeated Tsitsipas for the eighth straight match taking a 9-2 lead in their head-to-head series.

The seven-time Wimbledon winner will play for his seventh Rolex Paris Masters crown and fifth title of 2022 when he takes on red-hot Holger Rune in tomorrow's final. Djokovic is competing for a record-extending 39th Masters championship.

The 19-year-old Dane continues to terrorize Top 10 opponents.

Rune snapped Felix Auger-Aliassime's 16-match winning streak—and avenged his loss to the 22-year-old Canadian in last Sunday's Basel final—with a commanding 6-4, 6-2 rout that sends him into his first Masters 1000 final. It was Rune's fourth consecutive Top 10 triumph and comes a day after he stopped world No. 1 Carlos Alcaraz, who retired with a torn left abdominal muscle trailing 3-6, 6-6.

This will be the second meeting between Djokovic and Rune, who rises to a career-high ranking of No. 12 by reaching the final.




In the 2021 US Open first round, Djokovic defeated Rune 6-1, 6-7(5), 6-2, 6-1. The then 145th-ranked Rune stunned Arthur Ashe Stadium fans taking the second set before Djokovic took his legs out in the third and fourth sets.

“It was not the best of my performances, but at the same time he played well in the second set when it mattered, and I didn’t serve well in the decisive moments," Djokovic said immediately after his 2021 US Open win. "It was just trying to stay in the moment and rectify my errors but after that it’s hard to talk about my performance because in the third and fourth sets he couldn’t move much, so it’s hard to say anything about my performance.” 

Tennis Express

Dominant for the first set-and-a-half today, Djokovic won five straight games to seize a stronghold.

The 35-year-old Serbian  played a bit too carefully in the second set as if waiting for his opponent to miss rather than taking points as he'd done in the opening set. Credit Tsitsipas for elevating both his emotion and his game to force a final set.

Precision on the run is a key component of Djokovic's success. The streaking Serbian showed it, sliding successive forehand passes that danced at Tsitsipas' feet and drew netted volleys breaking for 4-2.

It was the first time Tsitsipas dropped serve in the tournament.

A superb front-runner, Djokovic drilled his second ace sealing a love hold to back up the break for 5-2 after 25 minutes of play. Playing pristine baseline tennis, Djokovic had eight winners against just one error through seven games.

Across the net, Tsitsipas struggled to gain traction in longer rallies. The lanky Greek netted a backhand to face set point. Handcuffed by a deep return, Tsitsipas netted a forehand as Djokovic snatched a one-set lead after 32 minutes of sharp play.

Djokovic cruised through five consecutive games before Tsitsipas rallied from 15-30 down to hold for 1-all in the second set and stop his slide.


That stubborn stand sparked Tsitsipas' emotion and he repeatedly waved his arms, exhorting fans to make more noise.

The fans responded and so did Tsitsipas, who broke for a 3-2 second-set lead.




Cracking a low pass Djokovic could not handle brought Tsitsipas a break and set point in the ninth game. Flicking back a deep return, Tsitsipas closed the second set when Djokovic jerked a forehand wide.

It was the first set Tsitsipas won against Djokovic since the second set of the 2021 Roland Garros final when the Greek built a two-set lead before Djokovic rallied to take the title.

Resetting, Djokovic drained errors in game three of the third set for double break point. Tsitsipas found his first serve when he needed it most, dodging danger to hold for 2-1.

The final set was even at 4-4 as Djokovic earned two break points and threatened to break and serve out the semifinal. Tsitsipas refused to succumb saving both break points to go up 5-4.

Dialing in his first serve, Djokovic slammed four love holds in his last five service games to force a final tiebreaker.

  Deadlocked at 3-3 in the decisive tiebreaker, Tsitsipas lofted a lob to push Djokovic back to the baseline then slashed a diagonal forehand for the mini break and a 4-3 lead.

The six-time champion came right back with a blistering response plastering the sideline with a forehand for 4-4. When Tsitsipas overhit a backhand, Djokovic edged ahead 5-4.




In a pulsating rally that followed, Djokovic made a tremendous running forehand over the shoulder save to prolong the point then drilled a running backhand pass low. Tsitsipas was in position for the volley but just pushed it into net as Djokovic earned match points.




Ripping a crosscourt forehand deep into the corner, Djokovic moved up to the service line and thumped a a declarative smash to close a quality victory in two hours, 19 minutes.


 

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