Luis Miguel Pascual
Paris, Nov 2 (EFE).- The storm raged throughout Europe and in the Paris Masters 1,000 venue, covered and completely closed, oblivious to the storm, it was done inside the body of the Serbian Novak Djokovic, suffering from an intestinal virus which, in his own words, had him “more time in the water than on the track.”
The world number 1 took the court ready to settle his commitment to the Dutch Tallon Griekspoor, 23 in the world, as soon as possible, a tennis player without a resume who on paper should not complicate things for him.
And he did not do it in the first games, faithful to the established script, an easy walk for the six-time champion who went 4-1, happy and content. But then everything changed, his face, usually gesticulating, became closed, gloomy. The virus took its toll.
Djokovic lost five games in a row and the set. But even in times of storm, champions like him know how to weather the storm, stand firm and not give in, waiting for the storm to subside. This is how the Serbian won their round of 16 duel, 4-6, 7-6(2), 6-4, to qualify for the Paris quarterfinals for the ninth time in eleven appearances.
While the rest of its main rivals give up, number 1 remains firm. It will be his tenth quarter of a year in which he has only fallen once before that round. His tournament selection strategy pays off and the Serbian has now had fourteen consecutive wins.
The fifteenth could come against the Danish Holger Rune, the same one who beat him in last year’s final, who beat the German Daniel Altmaier, 6-3, 6-3, to attend that event, one of the most anticipated of the tournament .
Rune, who has turned his season around in the final stretch, seems one of the survivors best equipped to trouble the Serbian. Especially because it is not known how much the virus will affect.
Disbandment of rivals
Other rivals with better rankings are giving up before even facing number 1.
Every day, one less favorite. The first was the Spanish Carlos Alcaraz, number 2 in the world, then the Russian Daniil Medvedev, number three, and this Thursday the fourth, the Italian Jannik Sinner, who preferred not to take to the court against the Australian Alex de Minaur after having finished well his previous match early in the morning.
The transalpine, in a great moment of form, appeared as one of the rivals capable of disturbing the Serbian, because he arrived in Paris with only one defeat in 14 duels and the trophies of Beijing and Vienna in his showcases.
His withdrawal generated a great controversy with the organizers, accused of leaving him hardly any time to recover from his early morning. Without him, the Serbian’s most important rival is the Russian Andrey Rublev, fifth in the table, who already beat him this year in Belgrade and which comes after having reached the final in Shanghai and the semi-final in Vienna.
The 26-year-old Russian added his twentieth victory of the year in Masters 1,000 against the Dutch Botic van de Zandschulp, the last survivor of the qualifying phase, whom he defeated with a double 6-3, to add his twentieth victory in Masters 1,000 of the year and the twelfth quarterfinals.
His rival will be De Minaur, who will arrive more rested after the retirement of Sinner and who has already defeated six top-10 players this season, more than any other player, which gives respect to the 24-year-old tennis player, 13th in the world.
The Greek Stefanos Tsitsipas already has fifty wins, with the one achieved against the German Alexander Zverev, 7-6(2), 6-4, which in addition to qualifying him for his tenth quarter of the year guaranteed him finishing the season in the top eight and playing thus the Turin Masters for the fifth consecutive season.
His rival will be the Russian Karen Khachanov, world number 15 at age 27, winner in Paris in 2018, who defeated his compatriot Roman Safiullin, 4-6, 6-4 and 6-2, and who will seek his second semi-final of a Masters 1,000 this season, after which he played in Miami.
Another of those who is finishing the season in top form is the Polish Hubert Hurkacz, who added his twentieth victory of the year in Masters 1,000 against the Argentine Francisco Cerundolo, 6-4, 6-3, and who has only lost two of the last 17 duels, including the victory in Shanghai.
He will face a reborn Grigor Dimitrov, who at 32 years old is remembering the promising tennis player who in his beginnings was compared to Roger Federer and who, after having defeated Medvedev in the second round in a high-voltage match, calmly defeated the Kazakh Alexander Bublik, 6-2 and 6-2 and opts to play in the Masters 1,000 semifinals for the second time this season, after those in Shanghai a few days ago. EFE
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2023-11-03 01:28:49
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