Djokovic Triumphs In Paris

Novak Djokovic looked like he would cruise to the title this afternoon. It appeared that he had resumed his form from yesterday. The Serb jumped out to a 6-2 3-0 lead.

His opponent, Gael Monfils came out flat in the first set but then was able to keep more balls in play a third of the way through the second set. This change caused Djokovic to make more errors. Monfils then went on a run by holding twice and breaking back to even the set at 3-3. They battled back and forth on serve until the Monfils broke again in game eleven and served for the set. The hometown crowd went wild after the Frenchman went from being on the ropes to leveling the match in eight games.

After Djokovic struck first in the third set, the visibly winded Frenchman ran out of steam but hung in there. Serving at 4-2, Djokovic had a very sloppy game that allowed Monfils to break back. The Frenchman leveled the set to 4-4 and eventually pushed the match to a deciding tiebreak. In the tiebreak, Djokovic won a point on Monfil’s serve for 4-2. It was lights out from there and victory at 6-2 5-7 7-6(3).

Djokovic won his first Masters title of the year and fifth of his career. Paris is his fifth title of the year and 16th title of his career. The Serb finished out the year strong with wins in Beijing, Basel and Paris and looks like the player to beat in London next week.


Championship Sunday
Singles Final
3 Novak Djokovic (SRB) def. 15 Gael Monfils (FRA) 6-2 5-7 7-6(3)

Doubles Final
1 D. Nestor (CAN)/N. Zimonjic (SRB) def. M. Granollers (ESP)/ T. Robredo (ESP) 6-3 6-4

(Images: Clive Rose/Getty Images)