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World no. 1 Novak Djokovic claimed the milestone 40th Masters 1000 title in Paris, lifting his seventh trophy in the French capital! Novak met Grigor Dimitrov in the title clash and scored a 6-4, 6-3 victory in an hour and 38 minutes.
The Serb celebrated his 399th Masters 1000 victory, moving a win away from joining Rafael Nadal in the 'Club 400.' Also, Djokovic secured his 97th ATP title, standing six behind Roger Federer. Novak had to dig deep against Tallon Griekspoor, Holger Rune and Andrey Rublev in the previous rounds, prevailing in three sets and spending almost nine hours on the court.
However, the veteran preserved enough energy for the title clash, facing no issues behind the initial shot and breaking Grigor two times to extend his incredible Paris Masters journey. Djokovic is the only player with 17 appearances in Paris, staying competitive for almost two decades and securing a Masters 1000 title at 36 years and five months.
Novak Djokovic claimed his 40th Masters 1000 title in Paris.
Dimitrov played well en route to his second Masters 1000 final. However, it was not to be for him against the toughest opponent, failing to create break chances and not following that pace behind the initial shot.
The Bulgarian held after deuce in the encounter's first game, and the Serb leveled the score at 1-1 with a service winner in the next one. They served well in the next four games, reaching 3-3 after Novak's ace down the T line.
Grigor served in game seven and played a terrible backhand at the net to drop serve and fall 4-3 behind. Djokovic cemented the advantage with a service winner a few minutes later, holding at love and moving 5-3 in front. Grigor reached his only deuce on the return in the tenth game before spraying a backhand error and handing the set to Novak 6-4 after 51 minutes.
They stayed neck and neck at the beginning of the second set, with four commanding holds. In the pivotal game, Dimitrov squandered two game points at 2-2 and placed a backhand long to suffer a break and fall behind. The Bulgarian played against another break point in game seven, forcing the Serb's mistake and remaining within one break deficit.
However, Novak secured a break at 5-3 after Grigor's backhand error, celebrating his 40th Masters 1000 crown.