World No.1 Novak Djokovic once again finds himself in the semifinals of the Paris Masters. The Serb who hasn’t won a single ATP Masters 1000 event in 2021 and beat American Taylor Fritz in the quarterfinals.
The Bercy Masters is the first tournament the top-ranked player is featuring in after his loss at the 2021 US Open to World No.2 Daniil Medvedev. After beating Marton Fucsovics in the earlier rounds, Djokovic also ended up getting a bye in the round of 16 against Gael Monfils.
Speaking to the media after his match against Fritz, the 20-time Grand Slam champion explained how he felt good to be back on the tour, but also mentioned that he needs to spend more time on the court to get his best level.
“I felt good considering it was only the second match since not playing for almost two months. There are certain things to improve, but I feel that the more time I spend on the court, the better I’m going to play,” Djokovic said.
The 34-year-old is also in the race to finish the year as the World No.1 for the record, seventh time in his celebrated, career. While Djokovic is the favourite to achieve the feat, the newly crowned US Open champion is also in touching distance.
However, if the five-time champion goes onto reach yet another final in Bercy, then he will certainly end 2021 as the World No.1. The top seed was clear in his assessment of the current situation. Addressing the media in Paris, Djokovic said, “Year-end no. 1 is the biggest reason I came here. Hopefully I can do it this week. If not, then I have Turin.”
Can Hubert Hurkacz stop Novak Djokovic?
The 2019 winner will take on World No.10 Hubert Hurkacz in the semifinals. Currently, Djokovic leads the Pole 2-0 in their head to head count. That said, the two haven’t met since the 2019 Wimbledon.
If Djokovic wins the title in Paris this week, he will have yet another record to his name as the holder of 37 ATP 1000 Masters title.
