By Chris Oddo | @TheFanChild | Sunday, October 30, 2022
Paris has always felt like a second home to Novak Djokovic, especially Bercy, a right bank enclave in the 12th arrondissement of Paris, which holds the Accor Arena, the venue in which the Paris Masters is played.
Djokovic owns six titles in Bercy, at the Rolex Paris Masters, but to win a seventh he’ll have to endure quicker conditions on the indoor hard courts.
“I like the conditions,” the 21-time major champion said. “Even though I must say after a few practice sessions this year, the conditions are different from last year. I spoke to tournament director (Cédric Pioline), and he told me that they increased the speed of the court. “I could feel that. Just takes a little bit of time to adjust to that.”
Any adjustment that needs to be made will be approached with confidence. Djokovic has hit his stride in the second half of the season and he hopes to continue the momentum in Paris.
“In the second part of the season I feel different on the court in a positive way,” he said. “The first part of the year with everything that has happened in Australia, I just felt challenged, very much emotionally, mentally off the court, and it was affecting my game. I was kind of finding my way to that desired level of tennis, and that happened, I think, towards the end of the clay season I start to play really well.”
Djokovic, who won his 21st major title at Wimbledon, where he is a seven-time champion now, said his performance on the grass has fueled him this season.
“Wimbledon always comes at the right time in my career, when I need that huge confidence boost and big title, Wimbledon is always there,” the 35-year-old said. “That obviously was also a huge relief with everything that has happened this season.”
Djokovic in Nadal’s Half in Bercy
The sixth-seeded Serb is in a tricky half of the draw that also includes Rafael Nadal.
Here is Djokovic’s path to a seventh Paris Masters title (if the seeds hold).
R1 - Bye
R2 - Maxime Cressy or Diego Schwartzman
R16 - [11] Jannik Sinner
QF - [3] Ruud
SF - [2] Nadal
F - [1] Alcaraz
The Serb is the all-time Masters 1000 title leader with 38. Nadal has 36.