[ad_1]
The Masters 1000 Paris has the duel he dreamed of, the semifinal between Serbian Novak Djokovic and Swiss Roger Federer, who in the absence of the Spanish Rafael Nadal, absent due to physical problems, are the two best of the moment.
The two monuments of tennis will sign their duel number 47, unlike the other semifinal, which will measure two young promises, the Austrian Dominic Thiem and the Russian Karen Khachanov, who have never crossed their snowshoes.
Paris will experience two duels of contrasts, the past and the renovation, which will take place Sunday for the last 1000 Masters of the year. Djokovic, who came to the French capital in search of his fifth title, won the number one present and had to prove it in his duel with Croatian Marin Cilic, who stole the first set since August, but ended . lose 4-6, 6-2, 6-3.
It was the 21st consecutive triumph of the Serbian who, however, stopped at 30 consecutive sets without losing, a small disappointment for a tennis player who since summer can no longer resist him.
Djokovic, looking for his 33 Masters, has skillfully rallied his ability, but again showed that he had found his best version and that it was difficult to defeat him.
If anyone can do it, it's a Federer who has won 22 wins, only surpassed in this fight by Nadal, although the Swiss have not won since 2016.
After his ninth triumph in Basel last Sunday, the Swiss Grand Slam returns to form in Paris, where he repeatedly assures that he did not come to win, if not to prepare for the Masters Tournament. from London.
In search of his 100th tournament, Federer eliminated without worry Japanese Kei Nishikori, 6-4, 6-4, who has left all direct qualifying options for the final round of the tournament. year and will have to wait for it to fall one of the top 8 in the rankings.
Federer has lost 24 times against Djokovic, although he is the tennis player with the best figures in the indoor tournaments, although in Paris no one has won more than the Serb, which has 31 wins . The French capital, which has not seen Switzerland for three years, continues to rejoice, which predicts a duel of several volts for tomorrow.
He also promises the duel between Thiem and Khachanov. The former Roland Garros finalist defeated defenseman Jack Sock of the United States 4-6, 6-4, 6-4. He will therefore play his first semifinal on hard ground after failing to fourth place four times.
As in the second round against Croatian Borna Coric, Thiem, 25, gave a run to advance and retain his direct qualifying options for the Paris Masters Tournament.
Sock, for his part, will become the fourth all-time tennis player to start the season in the top 10 and rank among the top 100.
The 26-year-old American won just nine games during the year, and until his arrival in Paris, where he won his only 1,000 Masters, he went on to win two victories in any tournament.
Kachanov, aged 22, won the first victory of the German Alexander Zverev against a tennis player of the "top 5" and is certain to finish the year among the 13 best in the world.
The Russian, who was the only vice-champion not to make the front page of the newspaper, left two favorites in mind, since in the eighths of the American John Isner was broken after saving two balloons of match.
Zverev, fifth racquet of the circuit and winner of two Masters 1000, played reduced by problems in the shoulder who, after the match, confessed that they had bothered him throughout the match.
Visibly angry after conceding the third-biggest loss of his Masters 1000 career against a rival that he had defeated in the previous two duels, the 21-year-old accused ATP of having overloaded the schedule and forced players to play at maximum. level for eleven months a year.
Source link
