World No. 1 Novak Djokovic stormed into the semifinals of the Paris Masters 1000 with a 6-1, 6-2 demolition of rising star Stefanos Tsitsipas in just 58 minutes on Friday.
Tsitsipas looked out of sorts right from the get go as Djokovic raced to 5-0 lead and held three set points on his opponent’s serve. The lanky Greek then won five straight points to hold serve for the first time in the match.
After winning the first set with two breaks of serve, the Serb went up 5-2 and calmly served out the match with a hold to love.
Djokovic next faces Grigor Dimitrov, who earlier on Friday beat Cristian Garin 6-2, 7-5, for a place in the final.
The win drew Djokovic with Tsitsipas at two-all in their head-to-head meetings, all of which have taken place in Masters Series tournaments this year. Tsitsipas won in three sets in Canadian and Shanghai, but lost their encounter in Madrid.
No. 1 ranking at stake
Djokovic has to stay within 220 points of his great rival Rafael Nadal this week if he is to have a chance of finishing the season as the world No. 1 – he would also have to win the ATP Tour Finals if he is to do so.
Djokovic reached the final of both the Paris Masters and the ATP Tour Finals in 2018, leaving him with a total of 1,600 ranking points to defend till 18 November.
Nadal plays Jo-Wilfried Tsonga later in the day for a place in the Paris semifinals.
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