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After three Major titles, Novak Djokovic secured another massive milestone in 2023, celebrating his 40th Masters 1000 crown in Paris. Novak took down Grigor Dimitrov 6-4, 6-3 in the title clash, earning another incredible record and extending his legacy.
Paris is Djokovic's 29th hard-court Masters 1000 crown, passing Roger Federer's total Masters 1000 tally! Novak's hard-court Masters 1000 trophies are almost good enough to keep him at the top of the Masters 1000 record list, with Nadal claiming 36 titles.
Djokovic passed three challenging rounds, dealing with stomach issues but prevailing after almost nine hours to move into the title clash. Novak dropped 11 points in nine service games, facing no break points and keeping the pressure on Grigor.
The Bulgarian chased his second Masters 1000 title, playing well in the previous duels but failing to repeat that against the world's best player. Dimitrov dropped serve three times and pushed Djokovic over the top and toward another milestone.
Novak Djokovic claimed his 29th hard-court Masters 1000 crown in Paris.
Novak had the upper hand in the shortest and more advanced exchanges, taming his strokes nicely and earning the trophy in an hour and 38 minutes. Grigor held in the encounter's opening game after deuce, and Novak leveled the score at 1-1 with an unreturned serve.
Dimitrov missed a forehand in the seventh game, offering Djokovic a break chance. The Bulgarian sprayed a massive backhand error at the net, losing serve and sending the Serb 4-3 in front. Novak cemented the advantage with a booming serve in the eighth game, forcing Grigor to serve to stay in the set.
The lower-ranked played extended the set with a volley winner before world no. 1 wrapped up the opener after the rival's backhand error, taking it 6-4 after 51 minutes. Dimitrov held at love at the beginning of the second set, and they stayed neck and neck in the next couple of games, with Novak landing a booming serve for 2-2.
In the pivotal game, Dimitrov squandered two game points and placed a backhand long to suffer a break and fall 3-2 behind. Djokovic clinched the sixth game in style, firing an ace and keeping the pressure on the other side.
Novak landed a deep return in the seventh game, creating another break point. The Bulgarian denied it with a strong attack and held to stay within one break deficit. The Serb hit another unreturned serve in the eighth game, moving 5-3 up and forcing his rival to serve to stay in the match.
Djokovic placed a backhand return winner for a match point in game nine and drew Dimitrov's backhand error, celebrating his 40th Masters 1000 crown.