The Serbian tennis player Novak Djokovic advanced this Thursday to the quarterfinals of the Paris-Bercy tournament, the last Masters 1,000 of the season, after coming back (4-6, 7-6(2), 6-4) against the Dutch Tallon Griekspoor.
The number one in the world reneged in a big way despite starting the first set with a resounding 1-4 in favor. The one from Belgrade flew but lost everything his inspiration suddenly, entering into unforced errors while his rival hit one winner after another.
The 24-time Grand Slam champion began to get upset about everything, the bottle that didn’t arrive from his bench, the public’s attempts to encourage him, until he accepted his bad moment with 4-6 down. The Dutchman did not slow down in the second set, even saving three break balls.
‘Nole’ did not find the way before a Griekspoor serious with his serve, but saved the most critical moment, a 15-40 in the ninth game. The Serbian, who had not competed in a tournament since his victory at the US Open two months ago, regained his color then and forced a sudden death in which he finished raising the level.
Without wanting to kneel, the Dutchman held on in case the opportunity to beat the world number one arose again, despite losing his serve in the fifth game. Djokovic gave a little more excitement by opening the door to his rival in the eighth, with a 4-4 that he soon reversed with the public against him.
The pique ended up igniting a ‘Nole’ that saved the bad day to continue fighting to increase its difference in number one in the world in the face of the pursuit of the Spanish Carlos Alcaraz, eliminated at the first attempt in Paris-Bercy. The six-time tournament champion will face Denmark’s Holger Rune, whom he beat in last year’s final, or German Daniel Altmaier in the quarterfinals.