Novak Djokovic defeated Daniil Medvedev to claim recordbreaking 37th ATP Masters title
By Milosz Kokosza
One day after securing year-end No 1 finish for the record seventh time, Novak Djokovic completed his astonishing week in Paris by capturing record sixth Bercy title and 37th ATP Masters crown.
In the Rolex Paris Masters final, Novak Djokovic overcame defending champion Daniil Medvedev 4-6, 6-3, 6-3 in 2 hours and 15 minutes. World number one, who came back from a set down, stunned Medvedev in the final encounter and secured the title with a great down-the-line forehand winner.
However, it was Medvedev who had a brilliant start as he broke Djokovic’s serve in the opening game. A 20-time Grand Slam champion was able to level the score in the fourth game, but it wasn’t enough to stop Medvedev, who stole Djokovic’s serve again and grabbed the first set.
"Novak Djokovic" by xeno_sapien is licensed under CC BY-NC 2.0.
World number one bounced back in the fourth game of the second set when his incredible defence forced Medvedev to make four errors in a row. With a 3-1 lead, Djokovic held the rest of his service
games, defending three break-points in a meantime and ultimately taking the match into the decider with a down-the-T ace.
Djokovic dominated the final set of the match, breaking Medvedev three times. The first one came in the 5th game when Russian’s flow was disrupted by a series of backhand slices from the Serb. World number one kept up the momentum, winning eight of the next ten points and making it 5-2. A 20-time major champion could have closed the competition in the 8th game, but his lapse in concentration gave Medvedev a glimmer of hope. However, a few moments later, Djokovic broke his opponent again to celebrate the 86th tour-level title with his children, Stefan and Tara.
"Today was a very special day. It's the first time both of my children are together courtside to watch
one of my matches. That is a beautiful feeling" – said Djokovic in his courtside speech.
The 34-year-old came back to the tour in impressive style, setting a few records. With a victory in Paris, Djokovic claimed his record-extending sixth title in Bercy and moved past his great rival Rafael
Nadal with a record-breaking 37th Masters 1000 crown. Saturday’s triumph over Hubert Hurkacz in the semi-final, also secured Djokovic’s year-end No 1 ranking for a record seventh time, beating Pete Sampras’s mark. On top of the records, Djokovic get his revenge for the heart-breaking defeat to Daniil Medvedev in the US Open final back in September, when the Serb was denied winning a record-breaking 21st Grand Slam title and a calendar Grand Slam.
“I'm very relieved that the Grand Slam season was done because I felt a tremendous pressure unlike anything I felt in my life” – said Djokovic on his attempt to win all four majors in a single year.
“I moved on from that and focused on the Masters events, and here in Bercy, and I did what I came here to do” – he added.
Djokovic will now focus on the ATP Tour Finals in Turin, where he can equal Roger Federer’s record of six titles. He’ll be joined in Italy by Alexander Zverev, Stefanos Tsitsipas, Andrey Rublev, Matteo
Berrettini, Casper Ruud, Hubert Hurkacz and Daniil Medvedev, who’s the defending champion.
