Novak Djokovic beats Grigor Dimitrov to win 40th Masters title
Novak Djokovic won a record-extending seventh Paris Masters trophy and a 40th Masters title in total on Sunday.
The world number one beat unseeded Grigor Dimitrov 6-4 6-3 in straightforward fashion.
It is the 36-year-old’s sixth title of 2023, which includes three Grand Slam crowns and the Masters trophy in Cincinnati.
“It’s incredible to be able to win it after quite challenging circumstances this week,” said Djokovic.
“I basically came back from the brink of losing three matches in a row so I’m very proud of this one considering what I’ve been through this week.”
Djokovic has been dominant on hard courts this season, winning 33 matches and only losing once.
Playing in his 58th Masters final, the Serb was hardly challenged by Bulgarian Dimitrov, ranked 17th in the world, who was playing in only his second Masters final.
The 24-time Grand Slam champion only needed one break to take the first set with Dimitrov, 32, hitting a lame backhand into the net at close range to hand Djokovic the advantage.
Djokovic was met with a wall of cheers and some boos from the Bercy crowd after serving out the first set, and smiled as he made a gesture with his hands towards the crowd asking for more.
Novak Djokovic has won his last 10 matches against Grigor Dimitrov, boasting an overall 12-1 record
Former world number three Dimitrov could not reproduce the strong form he had shown during the week, hitting 19 unforced errors in the first set compared with 10 from Djokovic.
The second set continued in the same fashion as Djokovic serenely made his way to victory with a double break.
Next up for Djokovic will be the season-ending ATP Tour Finals in Turin, where he will be heavy favourite to lift a record-breaking seventh title and be confirmed as the year-end number-one player in the world for a record-extending eighth time.
Earlier on Sunday in the doubles final, Mexican Santiago Gonzalez and Frenchman Edouard Roger-Vasselin won their second Masters title of the year with victory over Indian-Australian pairing Rohan Bopanna and Matthew Ebden.
The seventh seeds triumphed 6-2 5-7 10-7 over the third seeds.
Elsewhere, Britain’s Jack Draper secured his first title of an injury-hit season by beating David Goffin 1-6 7-6 (6-3) 6-3 to win the Bergamo Challenger in Italy.
The Davis Cup Finals take place in two weeks’ time, and with Dan Evans ruled out through injury, 21-year-old Draper is likely to play an important role in the GB team.