Novak Djokovic of Serbia was to play Milos Raonic of Canada in yesterday’s Paris Masters final after they emerged from starkly contrasting semi-finals on Saturday.
Top seed and defending champion Djokovic routed a weary Kei Nishikori of Japan 6-2, 6-3 in just 62 minutes, while seventh seed Raonic edged Tomas Berdych of the Czech Republic 6-3, 3-6, 7-5 in a clash that had looked destined for a deciding tie-break.
The two finalists have played each other three times previously, with Djokovic winning all three, the last occasion being a straight sets win in the quarter-finals of the French Open in June.
Djokovic, a two-time former champion in Paris, gained sweet revenge over Nishikori for his stunning four-sets loss to the Japanese speedster in the US Open semi-finals in September.
However, even he must have been surprised at just how easy it was as he enjoyed one-way traffic all the way apart from a brief spark of resistance from Nishikori halfway through the second set when he achieved his only break of serve.
However, the first Asian man to reach a Grand Slam singles final at least had some genuine excuses to offer up, having finished his 2 hour, 43 minutes quarter-final tie against David Ferrer after midnight on Friday.
“It was a great match,” Djokovic said of his form against Nishikori. “I haven’t dropped a set getting into the finals. I definitely feel fresh and motivated to play well tomorrow. We could see Kei wasn’t serving at his best; maybe he was fatigued from finishing late last night. Regardless, I played well and concentrated on what I needed to do. I served exceptionally well in the important moments and it’s something that encourages me for tomorrow.”
If Djokovic will be gunning for his 20th Masters Series title, 23-year-old Raonic will be playing in just his second final at that level, having lost in straight sets to Rafael Nadal on home soil at Montreal in September last year.
For Berdych, the defeat meant the Czech’s hopes of winning the Paris title for the second time after 2005 went begging. To date, that is his only Masters Series title, having lost in two finals since then.
However, both men were already assured of playing in the ATP World Tour Finals in London in just nine days time after their quarter-final wins on Friday. There, in what will be the finale to the ATP season, they will join Djokovic, Nishikori, Roger Federer, Stan Wawrinka, Andy Murray and Marin Cilic.
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