Djokovic’s revenge

On Sunday tennis fans enjoyed a rare treat: the Paris Masters 1000 final pitted the men’s world no 1, Novak Djokovic (above left), against the world no 2, Daniil Medvedev (right). It was a replay of September’s US Open final, when the Russian Medvedev, obliterated the Serbian Djokovic in a stunning display of power, ending his opponent’s chance of achieving the calendar Grand Slam.

This was time for revenge. The court in Paris was unbelievably slow, something which negated Daniil ’ s serving bombs and also meant long drawn out rallies, since the balls were so hard to put away. Medvedev had looked like a human backboard all week. Djokovic is also one of the game ’ s great returners, so this final was a tasty prospect.

But the Serb is not just a great retriever — he’s also cunning and can make the Russian look somewhat one-dimensional. Djokovic had been rather tight all week, knowing that if he got past the semis he’d finish the year at world no 1 for a record 7th time in his career. So, with the pressure off, he was more relaxed and free-flowing. Unlike so many of his matches, here Djokovic seemed to relish the encounter, smiling and at one point even laughing when out-smarted by his opponent. This was a less emotionally-explosive and more relaxed Djokovic. The fact that he and Medvedev are good friends off the court probably also came into play.

In the end, Djokovic simply played with more variety, pulling his opponent from side to side, drawing him in, dinking the ball to his 6’6” rival’s feet, occasionally ghosting his way to the net, followed up by sublime drop volleys, feathering drop shots with great disguise and even throwing in a couple of lob volleys. His game was by far the more diverse and he also appeared to have a superior sense of geometry, so necessary on this achingly slow court. Djokovic also varied the pace and spin, alternating between loopy topspin and heavy slice, along with low sliding side-spins down the forehand side which are so tricky for an opponent to negotiate, and then teasing him with acute angles.

And yet, Medvedev managed to scramble the ball back, finally breaking his opponent ’ s game down to take the first set. The Russian player shovels his shots over the net and it ’ s all highly unconventional. His game sure ain ’ t pretty, but it ’ s mighty effective.

This chess-like tennis match was so intriguing that no matter who you wanted to win, you also somehow wanted it to go down to the wire, to witness the drama of a tight match. It deserved to be a three-setter. And so it proved to be.

Djokovic somehow ran out the winner 4-6, 6-3, 6-3 for a record 6th Paris title. After his humiliating hammering at the hands of that same opponent at the US Open, this victory must have felt all the sweeter.

Novak has also achieved a record-breaking 37 Masters 1000 titles. To put that into perspective, the great Pete Sampras “only” achieved 11.

Next up, the prestigious season-ending ATP tour finals in Turin from 14- 21 November, featuring the top eight players, head-to-head.

Due to injury, neither Nadal nor Federer have earned enough points to qualify, which has opened up spots for first time qualifiers Casper Rudd and Hubert Hurkacz. But the new Djokovic vs Medvedev rivalry is the one to watch. You can catch all the action on Amazon Prime.