Paris Masters 2019: Novak Djokovic wins his fifth Bercy title

After having spent the past week in anxious apprehension about losing the Year-Ending Number 1 spot to nemesis, Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic doused such threats with a masterclass in the final of the Paris Masters on Sunday. The Serb looked in cruise control throughout the match against the young Denis Shapovalov and lifted his fifth Paris Masters title and 34th Masters 1000 trophy with a commanding 6-3, 6-4 win.

Djokovic, who recently won in Tokyo, has been enjoying a good year so far. However, with Rafael Nadal playing equally well and right behind him on the rankings list, the fight for the Year-Ending top spot was intense ahead of the ATP Finals.

Djokovic showed no signs of any mistake on the court during the final and the 20-year-old Denis Shapovalov could not answer his shots. Although the Israel-born Canadian player produced quality tennis occasionally, he was no match for the persistent Serb. For Shapovalov, who received a direct entry into his first Masters final after Nadal withdrew, it was a blistering 68 minutes of lesson from the World No. 1.

Having won the title at Bercy on four earlier occasions, Novak Djokovic looked right at home chasing down a fifth title at the final Masters 1000 tournament of the year. With that one-sided victory, Djokovic also threw down the gauntlet at his other challengers ahead of the ATP Finals later this month.

The match was pretty dramatic, however, with several instances of Shapovalov being frustrated at the Djokovic shots. At one point, the 20-year-old even threw his racket down to the court after firing a long return during the second set. All in all, it was a Djokovic showdown in Paris as he relished the bliss of getting his hands on a fifth Bercy title and thereby inching closer to clinching the Year-Ending World Number 1 for a staggering sixth time.