The world No. 1 qualified Saturday for its sixth final in Bercy by beating Dimitrov. He will face Shapovalov Sunday, who has benefited from the Nadal package.
"I have already been in tournaments where I was sick but where, going a little better each day, I managed to advance and even, sometimes, to win the title. " These words, pronounced Wednesday after a difficult entry in the running at the Masters-1000 of Paris Bercy, Novak Djokovic hangs there. Sick at the edge of the Paris tournament, the world number 1 is better. The Serb qualified without a shot on Saturday, November 2, for his sixth final in Bercy, taking the best on Grigor Dimitrov (7-6, 6-4).
Continuing its rise to power, one day after dominating Stefanos Tsitsipas, the "Djoker" delivered a successful match against a catchy Bulgarian. Having still not abandoned any set during this week in Paris, the player has qualified for the fiftieth final of his career in Masters-1000, the second level in tennis, just behind the Grand Slam tournaments. He will face Denis Shapovalov on Sunday, who benefited from the surprise abandonment of Rafael Nadal, announced a few minutes before the second semifinal. The Mallorquin quickly justified his withdrawal from the competition:
"This morning at one of the last services of my training I felt something in the abs. I consulted the doctor, he told me to wait, we did a second test, and there was a small tear in the image. I am going to recover mentally and physically and I hope to be ready for London but I have no guarantee. "
We regret to announce that because of the withdrawal of @RafaelNadal, the match that would oppose it to … https://t.co/aCWjWX24PA
A withdrawal that simplifies the route of Novak Djokovic. Already titled four times in the Palais Omnisports of Paris-Bercy, Novak Djokovic did not give in when Dimitrov tried to overflow it, during a first set game. Patient and solid service, the Serb has waited for the decisive game to take an option on the qualification. Even led 5-3, with the service to follow for his opponent, he never let go, also taking advantage of a global number 27 mood jump to pocket the tie-break. Rebelote in the second run.
Increasing in power since his entry in the running, the cold-blooded Serb will try Sunday to clinch his fifth title in the Parisian precincts. And if the abandonment of Rafael Nadal just minutes from his entry in the running against Shapovalov deprives the Parisian public of a possible clash between these two "monsters" of tennis, the Serb intends to continue its harvest of trophies.
