The 35-year-old Serb defeated Stefanos Tsitsipas (5th in the world) on Saturday after a match he considered "wonderful at this stage of (his) career" and which he won 6-2, 3 -6, 7-6 (7/4).

"I need to reaffirm that I am still there with the young players, that I am capable of competing with them and winning tight matches like this," Djokovic said.

Eager for matches and victories in a season truncated by his decision to refuse the anti-covid vaccine, the Serb, who is currently ranked 7th in the world, qualified on Saturday for his eighth final at Bercy, the 56th in Masters 1000 (record) .

He will try to bring his record of titles in this category of tournaments to 39, just below the Grand Slams.

Opposite, he will have a young wolf in very good shape at the end of the season, who will play his fourth final in as many tournaments (victory at the ATP 250 in Stockholm, defeats at the ATP 250 in Sofia and the ATP 500 of Basel), but who is a novice at this stage in a tournament of the importance of Bercy.

"Initiative"

To achieve this, Rune (18th) created a sensation on Saturday by dominating the Canadian Félix Auger-Aliassime (8th), who had beaten him in Basel last week and to which he inflicted a severe 6-4, 6-2.

Dane Holger Rune during his semi-final against Felix Auger-Aliassime at the Paris Masters 1000 on November 5, 2022 in Bercy Christophe ARCHAMBAULT AFP

"Now I know pretty much every player on the tour and how they play. I know if I give them the initiative they're going to put me under pressure and probably beat me. So it's up to me to play aggressive first. “, analyzed the Dane.

"To beat Félix, you have to make an almost perfect match because he is an exceptional player, and we were not far from it today", welcomed Rune's coach, Patrick Mouratoglou.

The Dane's Parisian saga almost ended in the first round when he had to save three match points against Stan Wawrinka.

But he got away with it and then dismissed with much more authority Hubert Hurkacz, Andrey Rublev, the world No.1 Carlos Alcaraz (who gave up on injury before the tie break of the second set when he had lost the first), and therefore Auger-Aliassime who was on a series of sixteen victories in a row and three titles in as many weeks (Florence, Antwerp and Basel).

So much so that he confidently approaches his prestigious final, trying to see it as "a match like any other", even if "it's easier said than done".

The King of Bercy

Especially when, opposite, will stand the king of Bercy (six titles, fourteen victories in a row since his final lost in 2018 against Karen Khachanov), "the strongest player in history", according to Mouratoglou.

Serbian Novak Djokovic after his victory over Greek Stefanos Tsitsipas in the semi-final of the Paris Masters 1000 on November 5, 2022 at Bercy JULIEN DE ROSA AFP

"Beating Novak is the most difficult thing in tennis (...) Indoors, he is exceptional. So beating Novak in the final of a Masters 1000 is not a final of Grand Slam but almost," said the coach of Rune.

The task could prove to be all the more complicated as the man with 21 Grand Slam titles (one length behind Rafael Nadal's record) is hungry for victories and titles.

Not vaccinated against covid, he missed the North American tour this summer and did not play on the circuit for more than two months after his victory at Wimbledon in July.

But he has won all his matches since his return, winning the titles in Tel Aviv and Astana before coming to Paris.

And he has no intention of being fooled by the new generation: "There is no doubt that Rune is the future of our sport, along with Alcaraz and a few other players. But I hope to be able to delay his first title by Masters 1000", launched the Djoker.

© 2022 AFP