And even if he has “perhaps we played our worst tie-break of the year” – an exercise in which he nevertheless excels – and thus allowed the Dane to get back on track, the Belgrader finally overcame his young opponent after three hard-fought sets (7-5, 6-7, 6-4). Djokovic could certainly have lost the thread after a contentious decision, the chair umpire having accepted a challenge from Rune even though the latter had played the ball. “I think he made a mistake and to be honest it could have cost me the match.”, he whispered to the media. But this fact of the match remained at the anecdotal stage. No doubt, also, because the Djoker was in another form that was much more convincing than the day before.
Rolex Paris Masters / Novak Djokovic, a smile after the struggle: “It was definitely better”
