Novak Djokovic is through to the final of the Paris Masters where he will face off against Grigor Dimitrov, but it was so nearly best friends colliding as Andrey Rublev in the words of the 24-time Grand Slam champion suffocated him like a snake does to a frog.
It will be 37-year-old Djokovic v 32-year-old Dimitrov in the final and in the 5-7, 7-6, 7-5 win, he said it was the best version of Rublev he has faced and also said he was most proud of how he dealt with multiple stomach issues and illness this week to still produce.
“Rublev was suffocating me like a snake suffocates a frog for most of the match. He was playing at an extremely high level. I knew he possessed a great quality, but today he played off the charts. I don’t think I’ve ever faced Rublev this good.”
“[I have been] going through quite a difficult stomach virus that really made me feel terrible the past three days, but somehow managing to find strength, find energy under the adrenaline rush of playing a match.
“Not giving up, fighting and believing that I can come back, which happened again and hopefully it can happen tomorrow.”
In terms of the match though, he was at his best towards the end as he usually is averting early scares to get stronger.
“I was struggling with my fitness again a little bit at the beginning, but I kind of went through it," said Djokovic. "It was crucial obviously to win the second set. The tie-break, I served very well and that helped.
“In the third set, I thought I was always there in his service games, having chances. He came up with some big serves when he needed to, but in the end, a double fault. An unfortunate ending for him, but I think I deserved it considering the amount of effort and fight I put in, especially in the third.”
I really don’t think people appreciate how much older Djokovic is than the rest of the ATP top flight. Djokovic is *36*. No one else in the ATP Top 16 is older than *27*. And yet he’s still the far-and-away #1.
We're going three in Paris, but first, a little back rubbage for Nole
