Novak Djokovic showed his physical fitness as he won against Holger Rune in a three-set match on Friday night. The Serbian player fought hard and qualified for his ninth semi-final at the Rolex Paris Masters. This victory was a revenge for Djokovic, as he had lost against Rune in the final last year.
In an exciting match where the world number 7 constantly responded to the number 1 with net approaches and powerful serves, Djokovic, the more experienced player, came out on top. Surprisingly, he was also physically fresher, especially in the third set, despite his tough match against Griekspoor the day before.
Djokovic took control over his opponent by securing a break that Rune couldn’t recover from. The Serbian showed a great display of service, hitting 9 aces during the match. On the other hand, Rune made too many mistakes, making it difficult for him to beat Djokovic, who has already won this tournament 6 times.
Although he lost the first set, Rune sent a strong message to Djokovic. He saved a match point and excelled in a quick tie-breaker. Rune played solidly on Djokovic’s first serve and quickly took a 3-0 lead. He even won an impressive series of 9 points out of the last 10 in the second set. However, Djokovic regrouped after the set and broke Rune’s serve early in the third set to control the rest of the match.
It was a long and entertaining match that lasted 2 hours and 50 minutes. Djokovic could have won earlier if not for a controversial challenge by Rune. When Djokovic was leading 15/30 on Rune’s serve at 5-4, Rune challenged a point after playing it. This behavior didn’t sit well with Djokovic, who believed that the point should have gone to him. After discussions with the umpire, the point was reviewed through video and ruled as a fault. The score then became 30-30 instead of 15-40, as Djokovic wanted.
Despite this incident, Djokovic secured his place in the semi-finals where he will face Andrey Rublev. Rublev defeated Alex de Minaur in the quarter-finals. Djokovic’s ability to manage the match and his consistent performance impressed many spectators.
Overall, Djokovic demonstrated his resilience and determination in this match, proving that he is still a force to be reckoned with in the tennis world.
