Paris (AFP)

Novak Djokovic breathes: visibly less suffering than the day before, the world No.1 rallied more slowly to the quarterfinals of the Masters 1000 in Paris on Thursday, where Stan Wawrinka defeated Rafael Nadal in the evening.

Like Wawrinka, Gael Monfils, against him Moldavian Radu Albot (50th) in a quarter of a table cleared by the last minute package of Roger Federer, will try to get even closer to the Masters (10-17 November). The Swiss and the French are now the only two to be able to dislodge the Italian Matteo Berrettini, eliminated entry to Bercy, the eighth and last qualifying place for the big meeting in London.

Djokovic still has small eyes but he is much better. The proof, this time, he did not spend the press conference muffled in his jacket as the day before his entry in the running. Sick for three days, the Serb had long been only the shadow of himself against the young lucky French loser Corentin Moutet (97th).

"I felt better, with more energy, more alert, more strength, more speed," confirms the world N.1.

That resulted in a two-way success, 7-6 (9-7), 6-1, at the expense of British Kyle Edmund (75th). In the first run, "Djoko" needed seven set balls to conclude. Edmund then made too many mistakes to continue to stand up to him and only scored one game.

"I did not play very well from the bottom of the court in the first set, but I served well, it took me to the tie-break, and the second set is my best of the tournament so far. I am convinced that I am going in the right direction and that it will be even better tomorrow (Friday) ", he explains in his voice, however, hoarse.

- Djokovic-Tsitsipas, revenge? -

In the quarterfinals, the Serb will meet the young Greek Stefanos Tsitsipas (21), the last player to beat him at the same stage of the competition in Shanghai in early October.

By defeating Thursday, Djokovic and Tsitsipas - Thursday Thursday of Australian Alex De Minaur, ejected from the race at the Masters - joined the Russian Daniil Medvedev (59) and the Swiss Roger Federer (51) among the players to have accumulated at least fifty victories in 2019.

Nadal will try to imitate them in the evening, against Wawrinka. And continue his duel with Djokovic for the place of N.1 world end of the year.

Whatever happens under the roof of Bercy, the Spaniard will dethrone the Serb next Monday.

And "Rafa" is in a position of strength to finish a fifth time in the year N.1, at 33: he has a comfortable mattress lead in the "Race", the ranking established over the calendar year ( 1280 points precisely). A title in the east of Paris, where the undisputed king of Roland Garros has never won, will negate the chances of Djokovic to catch up.

Another quarter-final will be against Bulgarian Grigor Dimitrov (27th), recent semifinalist at the US Open, Chilean Cristian Garin (42), who is coming to the Masters 1000 for the first time after dismissing three match balls against Jeremy Chardy (6-7 (4/7), 6-4, 7-6 (8/6)).

For Dimitrov, it will be his first quarterfinal in Paris.

Garin (23) is the first Chilean to reach the quarterfinals in Masters 1000 since Fernando Gonzalez ten years ago in Rome. And the first in Bercy since Marcelo Rios in 1998.

© 2019 AFP