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Serbian chasing record-extending 40th ATP Masters 1000 title
Novak Djokovic gained revenge against Holger Rune on Friday at the Rolex Paris Masters, where he defeated the 2022 champion 7-5, 6-7(3), 6-4 in a rematch of last year’s final. The World No. 1 now holds a 48-9 record in Paris, having advanced to the semi-finals nine times.

The 20-year-old Rune upset Djokovic in the Paris title match last year to capture his first ATP Masters 1000 trophy. The Serbian ensured he would not suffer the same fate this season, though. In a high-quality match, he won 80 per cent (12/15) of his second-serve points in the first set and fended off a mid-match resurgence from Rune. After saving a match point at 4-5 in the second set, the Dane won nine of 10 points deep in the set to level, opening his shoulders to hit freely.

As he so often does, Djokovic regrouped in the third set. He gained an early break and offered Rune little opportunity on return to improve to 31-1 on hard courts in 2023.

With his two-hours, 54-minute triumph, Djokovic levelled his Lexus ATP Head2Head series with Rune at 2-2, having also lost to the Dane in Rome this year. Chasing a record-extending seventh Rolex Paris Masters crown, Djokovic will meet Andrey Rublev or Alex de Minaur in his eighth semi-final of the season.