Djokovic vs Federer- A mighty battle in store
As we come to the final tournament of the year (with the exception of the Nitto ATP Finals), the players get their final chances to finish their year on a high. However, with Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic, there is a bigger rivalry in play.
Djokovic has lost just 2 matches since the French Open and just 1 since Wimbledon, the tournament which he won. Djokovic is back in devastating form again and as a result has gone on to win Wimbledon, Cincinnati, the US Open, Shanghai Masters and now knocking on the door for a 5th Paris crown.
Standing in the way of continuing his 21 match winning streak is the fellow all-time great Roger Federer. Federer has had a shaky 2nd half of the season, having trouble finding the right flow to stack up the big victories. However, Federer has a love for indoor tournaments, having just come into the Paris masters winning Basel and also Rotterdam earlier in the season.
Djokovic vs Federer- The Bigger Fight
What makes this match up so interesting is the story coming into the match. Djokovic leads their head-to-head with a very close 24 wins to 22 wins of Federer. Their last meeting came at the finals of Cincinnati Masters after more than 2 years where Djokovic beat the Swiss star in straight sets 6-4 6-4 announcing his comeback to prime form.
Federer, on the other hand, well into his twilight years, knows there are only a handful of opportunities left in his career to have these memorable fights against his fellow legends and in his own words this is what he has to say coming into the blockbuster semi-finals -
“I want to play well. I want to try to win, obviously. I know he's on a hot streak so I think it's going to be tough."
"I think I'm ready, I have to play a lot of good tennis tomorrow because those are the questions Novak asks of you and it's not just maybe a serve here or there or a return here or there, he's going to ask the question time and time again because he defends very well but nevertheless I think I've got nothing to lose. I also like this type of surface, I like playing indoors."
Djokovic is arguably the favourite coming into the semis tonight, but if both players start swinging freely, it's going to be anyone's fight.
Don't miss the game tonight at 4:30 PM (Paris) 9 PM IST.