Novak Djokovic fend off a spirited comeback from Holger Rune at the Paris Masters to reach the final four of the four Paris Masters for a ninth time but he also had to fought some rouge crowd off back.
Similar to his three-set win against Tallon Griekspoor in the R3, Djokovic had to cope with the boos from the fans but much like during the previous round, he dialed in to regain the composure and feed off the negative energy to convert another notable 7-5, 6(3)-7, 6-4 win.
At the end of the match, the Serbian during the most-match celebrations displayed the English midfielder Jude Bellingham’s signature celebration as he outstretched his arms to embrace the toxic ones in the stands.
When quizzed about booing after the match, the 24-time Grand Slam champion said: “Sometimes you just have to stay calm and focus on what needs to be done in the next point. Actually most of the time that is probably the best thing you can do.
“But sometimes you react, you feed off that energy,” added the 6-time Bercy titlist who knows this crowd as good as they know him.
In a rematch of the 2022 final won by the Dane, Djokovic earned a late break in the first set which was enough to close it. He then created at match-point opportunity in the 10th game of second frame but the 20-year-old didn’t allow the Serbian to convert it as he held his ground to take the set to tiebreak and level the clash with 1-set each and force a decider.
“It was quite a similar match to last year’s final, it was any body’s game in every set,” said the world No. 1.
“I played an awful tie-break in the second set, probably the worst one this year. But again credit to him for staying mentally tough and playing solid. We have similar games. Move well, defend well and all-round players.”
In the third game of the deciding third Djokovic played his game to reach the 9th semi-final of the final ATP Masters 1000 event of the season. The 36-year-old however, admitted that it felt strange to see his former coach Boris Becker now backing the Danish prodigy.
Becker, who remained part of Djokovic’s coaching staff for three years, started joined Rune’s camp last month.
“He has been playing much better in the past few weeks since working with Boris,” the 24-time Grand Slam winner said. “It was strange seeing Boris in the opposing box, but I knew it might happen this week and I wish Holger and him all the best in Turin,” said Djokovic about the World No. 7.
He will be up against Andrey Rublev for a place in the semis after the Russian edged Aussie Alex de Minaur 4-6, 6-3, 6-1. Upon passing the Rublev test, Djokovic will face the winner of Grigor Dimitrov and Stefanos Tsitsipas in the final for a chance to seal a record extending 7th title at Paris Masters.