At the ATP Master 1000 tournament in Paris-Bercy, Novak Djokovic made it to his 58th final overall in competitions. The 36-year-old from Serbia had to put in extra effort to defeat Andrey Rublev, the winner of one of his best-ever matches, in order to accomplish this amazing feat.
After a tough three hours of play, he prevailed 5-7, 7-6(3), and 7-5, providing further evidence of Djokovic’s unquestionable dominance. He can win a match even when he is not at his best.
During the press conference, Djokovic discussed the match and praised his opponent for an incredible performance. He said: “I woke up in a good mood and in good condition this morning, but an hour before the match, things got worse again. Not that this was happening for the first time, but I managed to handle the situation of the previous days relatively well. On the other side of the net, I had probably the best version of Rublev of my career.”
Djokovic further talked about his invincibility and said: “No one is invincible, but I am glad that there is this aura around me, that people think I am invincible, and that the players feel it on the court. That’s very important to me; I want them to feel that because it puts me at a mental advantage over them.”
Novak Djokovic says no one is invincible, but he’s glad that other players think he is:
"No one is invincible, but I am glad that there is this aura around me, that people think I am invincible & that the players feel it on the court. That's very important to me. I want them to… pic.twitter.com/VBVA5N5xoO
— The Tennis Letter (@TheTennisLetter) November 5, 2023
Novak Djokovic in 2023
Currently the world no.1, the Serbian played his last match on the 5th of November when he overcame world no.14 Grigor Dimitrov 6-4 6-3 in the final in Paris to win his 97th career title.
This season Novak achieved a 51-5 record. The Serbian conquered 6 titles in 2023 in Adelaide, Australian Open, French Open, Cincinnati, U.S. Open and Paris. Novak got to the final in Wimbledon.