By Chris Oddo | @TheFanChild | Friday November 1, 2019
Novak Djokovic rolled into the Rolex Paris Masters semifinals with a commanding shutdown of Stefanos Tsitsipas on Friday.
Novak Djokovic needed just 18 minutes to build a 5-0 lead over Stefanos Tsitsipas in Friday’s second Rolex Paris Masters quarterfinal in Bercy. After another 40 minutes he had successfully pounded his way past a shell-shocked Greek 6-1 6-2 to announce himself in fit and ferocious form.
“Very satisfying,” said Djokovic after the match. “Still struggling a little bit with my voice, but a match like this really makes me very happy and satisfied—obviously one of the best performances I had this season without a doubt against a great player, a player I lost against some weeks ago in Shanghai.”
Djokovic, who was battling illness as he opened his bid for a fifth Paris crown earlier in the week, appears to have shaken free all symptoms and doubts as he marches into his sixth Paris semifinal, where a suddenly surging Grigor Dimitrov awaits.
The World No.1 was in command from the start and never wavered as he methodically leveled his lifetime head-to-head with the World No.7 at two victories apiece behind pitch-perfect serving (nine points lost and zero break points faced) and his usual world-class return game (12 of 18 second-serve return points won, four of nine break points converted).
Tsitsipas stopped the bleeding momentarily when he saved three set points to climb out of a 0-40 hold and earn a hold for 1-5 in the first set. He saved another set point with Djokovic serving at 5-1 40-15, but Djokovic locked up the set on the next point and quickly raced out to a 5-1 lead behind two consecutive breaks in the second set.
“I spent quite a bit of time preparing for this match,” Djokovic said. “Creating a strategy and tactics for Stefanos and it worked well.”
Again, Tsitsipas stopped the rot with a convincing hold for 2-5 but Djokovic closed affairs with a love hold to lock up his 51st win of the season.
Djokovic finished with 18 winners against 10 unforced errors and won nine of nine net points; Tsitsipas managed just eight winners against 20 unforced errors.
Dimitrov reached his sixth Masters 1000 semifinal on Friday with a 6-2 7-5 win over Cristian Garin. The former World No.3 has taken his ranking from outside the Top 70 to inside the Top 20 thanks to his semifinal at the US Open and his first trip to the last four in Paris.
Djokovic owns the 8-1 advantage over Dimitrov and has taken the pair’s last six meetings.
“I like Grigor a lot, he’s a great guy,” Djokovic said. “Obviously [he has] lots of talent. … I think his confidence level is pretty high at the moment and obviously he is enjoying himself on this center court.”