The Serb wins after a hell of a showdown against the Greek 6-2, 3-6, 7-6 (7/4) and joins Holger Rune in the final.
At the Accor Arena,
Malmené, the title holder, still qualified for his eighth final of the Parisian Masters 1000 where he will be opposed to the young Dane Holger Rune. In search of a seventh title at Bercy, the 39th in Masters 1000 (record), he nevertheless wavered this Saturday after a superb showdown. In line with his brilliant performance against Lorenzo Musetti in the quarters, the former world number one played almost perfect tennis by converting his two break points and only lost a point on his serve in a concluded first set. in 31 minutes with only one unforced error (against eleven for Tsitsipas) and nine winning shots (against six for the Greek). “I started this match very well like the day before my quarter-final. I was hitting the ball very well, I was solid in all areas of the game. My game plan was clear, slipped the winner. I had control of the game. »,
We imagined a demonstration like the day before but Tsitsipas who harangued the public, then revolted. More relaxed and efficient in service, the Greek took over in the second act where the master of the place saw his percentage of first serves drop to 65%. “Nole” conceding the first set of his week. The Serbian machine experienced failures (12 unforced errors against 10 for Tsitsipas) and the 5th in the world took advantage of it: “Afterwards, he found solutions, he raised his level of play and, at one point, it became difficult for me to find the right shot. The crowd started cheering him on. There was a small twist. I lost my serve, he gained confidence and made fewer mistakes. I served less well.»
In the decisive round, in an atmosphere of fire, Djokovic had two break points (at 1-1 and 4-4), but could not conclude. But in the decisive game, he knew how to make the difference. The force of habit. Yet Tsitsipas led 4-3, before conceding four consecutive points and giving up. Undefeated on the circuit since his defeat against Rafael Nadal on May 31 in the quarter-finals of Roland‐Garros, the Serb continues his series with 13 consecutive successes. The insatiable will play his 56th final in a Masters 1000. He played four decisive games at Bercy which he won. With this fourteenth victory in a row at the Accor Arena, since his defeat in the final in 2018 against the Russian Karen Khachanov, Djokovic remains the king of Bercy. Confirmation expected on Sunday. Make way for Holger Rune: “I know him quite well. We often shared training sessions together. He’s a good guy and has a great entourage. He deserves his success. He progresses from challengers to top 15. No doubt that Rune is the future of our sport, along with Alcaraz and a few other players. But I hope to be able to delay his first Masters 1000 title.