World number one Novak Djokovic will face Grigor Dimitrov in the final in Paris tomorrow. The Serbian reached the contention for the trophy after defeating Andrey Rublev (Russia) 2:1 set (5:7, 7:6/3/, 7:5) in a three-hour battle.
Nole and Grisho have met 12 times at the ATP level, and Djokovic’s advantage is overwhelming: 11-1.
Dimitrov’s only victory in their rivalry is from 10 years ago – at the “Masters” tournament in Madrid, when he won with 2:1 sets (7:6/6/, 6:7/8/, 6:3) on 1/16 – final. In this season, the Serbian has won twice over our first racket.
Today, Djokovic, the leader in the scheme, did not look in optimal condition in the first set and fell behind in most of the long games.
Rublev made an early breakthrough, but did not allow Nole to consolidate it. In the end, the Russian took advantage of his first break point in the 12th game to take a 1-0 lead in the set.
Photo: Getty Images
The second part was even and ended with an exchange of games. Rublev reached 6:5 when Nole picked up the pace. The 6-time champion in “Bercy” took the next game and broke the opponent in the tiebreak, giving him only 3 points.
In the third set, the psychological advantage was already on the side of Nole, who delivered his blow at the end, breaking through Rublev for 7:5.
Photo: Getty Images
The success is the fifth for Djokovic against Rublev, against whom the Serbian has one defeat, but a particularly painful one. The World No. 5 defeated him 2:1 sets (6:2, 7:7/4/, 6:0) in the final in Belgrade last year.
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