Novak Djokovic claimed the Paris Masters title with a 7-5
7-5 victory against David Ferrer to retain his hopes of ending the year as
world No 1.
Djokovic, who last suffered defeat in the US Open final
against Rafael Nadal, came through in one hour and 52 minutes at a packed
Palais Omnisports de Paris Bercy.
He secured his 17th straight match to capture his sixth
title this season and now heads into the season-ending ATP World Tour Finals at
the O2 in London as firm favourite.
Ferrer, who was trying to become the first man ever to
retain the title in the French capital, picked up where he left off with a
rip-roaring start.
The 31-year-old made his move in the fifth game, taking
his opportunity with a delicate chip over the net on his second break point,
before calling on all his reserves to hold in the next game.
However, some metronomic tennis from Djokovic gave him a
window of an opportunity at 4-3, but the Spaniard showed tremendous tenacity to
hang on.
Ferrer tensed up whilst serving for the set and Djokovic
only needed one of his two break point chances to restore parity in what was
turning into an intoxicating battle.
The 26-year-old Belgrade native turned the screw and
opened up two set points on Ferrer's next service game and he took it in 52
minutes of action thanks to a beautifully angled forehand which his opponent
netted.
Djokovic hit an impressive 18 winners and won 83 per cent
of his first serve points while Ferrer won only 29 per cent of his second serve
points.
French Open runner-up Ferrer was trying to defeat three
top 10 players in a row in the ATP rankings since Rome in 2010 and he received
an instant boost with a break in the opening game of the second set.
But once again nerves got the better of him as he failed
to serve out the set after crashing his forehand into the tramlines at 30-40.
From then on Djokovic took over, winning 16 of the final
21 points to reclaim the title he had previously won four years ago.
Culled from Skysports
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