Novak Djokovic wins record seventh Paris Masters title

Novak Djokovic secured historic 40th ATP Masters 1000 crown.

Novak Djokovic tasted victory at the final ATP Maters event of the year. The World No. 1 defeated Grigor Dimitrov to claim his seventh Paris Masters trophy and his 40th ATP Masters 1000 title overall. The Serbian handed Dimitrov a straight-set defeat, with a score of 6-4, 6-3 in over 90 minutes.

The World No.1 secured the first set in 51 minutes, breaking the Bulgarian’s serve in the seventh game. Two more breaks followed in the 5th and 9th games of the second set, allowed Djokovic to wrap up the match in 47 minutes. Both players hit fifteen winners each, but Dimitrov committed far too many unforced errors – sixteen compared to Djokovic’s four.

With this victory, Djokovic’s total major titles now stands at 70, which includes a combination of Grand Slam Titles, victories at the Nitto ATP Finals, and ATP Masters 1000 titles. In addition to his 40 ATP Masters wins, he has six ATP Finals titles and 24 Grand Slams. The 36-year-old has also won 97 ATP tour-level titles and is closing in on becoming the third player to reach 100 titles, with only Jimmy Connors boasting 109 and Roger Federer with 103 ahead of him.

Djokovic had to overcome health issues during the tournament, battling stomach flu in the round of 16 against Tallon Griekspoor and requiring medical attention for his lower back in the semi-final clash against Andrey Rublev. His quarter-final match against defending champion Holger Rune went the distance, lasting three sets and taking nearly three hours to complete.

With this win, the Serbian’s head-to-head record against Dimitrov stands 12-1, with two of those victories coming at Paris-Bercy in 2016 and 2019. He also defeated Dimitrov in this year’s Australian Open and Rome Masters. This latest win extends his lead over Carlos Alcaraz by 1490 points in the Pepperstone ATP Live Race to Turin, making it increasingly likely that he will finish another year as the year-end World No. 1.

For his triumph, Djokovic will receive €836,355 ($897,000) and 1000 ATP points, while Grigor Dimitrov takes home €456,720 ($490,000) and 600 ATP points.