Paris Masters Djokovic advances to quarter-finals, despite virus

(Paris) Obviously not in his mood, world No.1 Novak Djokovic nevertheless reached the quarter-finals of the Masters 1000 in Paris on Thursday where he will meet Holger Rune for a repeat of the 2022 final, when Jannik Sinner (4^e) did not want a respite, after a first match ended in the middle of the night.

Triple ration of satisfaction for Stefanos Tsitsipas (6^e): winner of Alexander Zverev (9^e) 7-6 (7/2), 6-4 in the round of 16, first victory of the year against a player from top 10, and qualification confirmed for the Masters which brings together the eight best players of the season in Turin (Italy) in mid-November. Zverev must wait some more time to officially validate his ticket.

We believed at one point that the quarter-finals would be played on Friday without any member of the team. top 4. After Carlos Alcaraz, Daniil Medvedev and Jannik Sinner (forfeit), Djokovic, the highest ranked of the leading quartet, the king of the circuit, seemed on the verge of diving, as if woozy, when his evening opponent, the Dutchman Tallon Griekspoor (23^e), had two break opportunities which would have allowed him to then serve for the match, at 4-4 in the second set. But the world No.1 was able to come out 4-6, 7-6 (7/2), 6-4.

Virus

“I started well, but I felt really bad afterwards. It’s not an injury, it’s a stomach virus,” he explained – in French – at the end of the match.

“It’s hard to have a clear mind when you spend more time in the bathroom than on the court for three days… I had very little energy. Today (Thursday) was perhaps the worst day, he admitted. I just hope it gets better tomorrow (Friday). »

Everything started well for Djokovic, quickly losing 4 games to 1. But a series of five games conceded later, the 36-year-old Serbian sat on his bench leading a set to zero and swallowed a medicine given by the doctor. In the third set again, we saw him with his hands on his temples.

Opposite, Griekspoor, a newcomer at this stage in Masters 1000, took the best of his luck for a long time by delivering a wave of winning shots – around forty – before collapsing in the “money time”.

The quarter-final of Djokovic, already a six-time winner at Bercy, will be a repeat of the 2022 final with Holger Rune.

Not in great shape since the American summer, Rune is firmly holding his place in the Parisian room for the moment: in the round of 16 on Thursday evening, he easily dismissed the German Daniel Altmaier (54^e) on a double 6-3 in 1 h 20 min.

“I’m so impatient,” smiles Rune, now accompanied by Boris Becker. “I always look at the table (before a tournament), what can happen. I had two very good (first) matches, I feel better and better on the court and I am ready for this big challenge. »

A year ago, Rune signed a series of five consecutive victories against top 10 players, including Djokovic in the final, to win his first Masters 1000 trophy. “I had played the best tennis of my life », remembers the young Dane.

Rune (20 years old) is still chasing a qualification for the Masters which will bring together the eight best players of the season in mid-November in Turin (Italy). He currently occupies the last qualifying place, ahead of Hubert Hurkacz, also in the quarter-finals in Paris.

Fatigue

Qualified at half past two in the morning the previous night and scheduled for late Thursday afternoon, barely fifteen hours later, Sinner preferred not to tempt the devil: he withdrew before his eighth of final planned against Alex de Minaur (13^e) citing his state of “fatigue”.

“My match ended at almost 3 a.m. (2:37 a.m. precisely), I didn’t get to bed until a few hours later. I had less than twelve hours to rest and prepare for my next match, he described on social networks. I have to do what I feel is best for my health and my body. »

Especially since the Masters now awaits him on his Italian lands, before the final phase of the Davis Cup. “I have two very important weeks coming up. I will prepare for it and concentrate on it now,” confirmed Sinner, who is also carrying the fatigue accumulated in Vienna, where he was titled on Sunday after more than three hours of final against Medvedev.

Qualified without playing, De Minaur will face Rublev in the quarter-finals, who made short work of the Dutchman Botic van de Zandschulp (60^e), crunched 6-3, 6-3 in 65 minutes.

Grigor Dimitrov (17^e) will be opposed to Hubert Hurkacz (11^e), who has not given up his last hopes of qualifying for the Masters.