Paris-Percy 2021: Djokovic is the first among them | Sports

In his stubborn and outspoken desire to break all records and become the best tennis player ever by numbers, Novak Djokovic took another big step this Saturday by defeating Poland’s Robert Hurkacz in the semi-finals of Paris-Percy (3-6, 6). -0, 7-6 (5) and thus guaranteed to close 2021 at the top of the world list. Namely, Noel, 34, is indeed one of the few kings. Pete Sampras as the player who has managed to seize the throne more than once at the end of the season, it will be seven years now, so he is already ruling alone.

Djokovic got it after another one of those amazing twists in the script he usually stars in, after returning from a duel that started on a hill for him and ended in style. The victory gave him a pass to the final of the Paris Championship, of which he, of course, holds the record for titles (5), and he met the Russian Daniil Medvedev (a 6-2 double for Alexander Zverev), the rival. who left a deep wound in September when he blew his chance to catch the 21st major. The Serbian, then, will expand the record and will appear at the top of the classification again after receiving a 1 Finalist in 2011, 2012, 2014, 2015, 2018, and 2020.

“It’s unbelievable to be able to overtake my childhood idol,” he recalled Sampras, who is second today over Jimmy Connors, Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer (5). Achieving this means having an absolute commitment throughout the season and showcasing the best tennis in the best tournaments. I am in a special and unique situation. It’s really hard for me to realize all that he’s accomplished; Maybe when I retire I can appreciate it better. And the Belgrade team, which returned this week after 51 days without competition, after losing the US Open final specifically to Medvedev, 25, added.

Muscovite was the only opponent who had the option to steal that last honor, but the calculator confirms that Djokovic is in an advantageous position. “Obviously he passed me the last time, but the last time [en la final del Open de Australia de este curso] I was the one who outdid him. Above all, I want the spectator to see an exciting match,” he added, after Sunday (15.00, Movistar) had the opportunity to get another record, because if he achieved his sixth Cup in Percy he would raise 37th place in the Masters 1000. In parallel , distances himself from Nadal.

Russia, champion in Prague

On the other hand, the Russian Federation crowned, on Saturday, the Billie Jean King Cup (the old Federation Cup) by defeating Switzerland 2-0 in the final. Daria Kasatkina beat Gil Tikhman in her first singles match (6-2, 6-4) and Lyudmila Samsonova wrapped up her team’s work against Belinda Bencic (3-6, 6-3, 6-4). It is noteworthy that Russia – the Russian Federation these days because of the sanctions that burden the state due to government doping – is the favorite before the start of the tournament – has five titles in the competition, like Spain. The team led by Annabel Medina was eliminated in the initial group stage, losing on the final day to the United States.

You can follow EL PAÍS DEPORTES at Facebook social networking site And Twitter, or sign up here to receive Weekly newsletter.