Translated material
Parisian jackpot
Serbian Djokovic won the last Masters of the year
The victory of Serbian Novak Djokovic in Paris ended the last ATP Masters tournament of the current season. In the decisive match, which lasted almost three hours at the Bercy stadium, the third racket of the world beat the Frenchman Gael Monfils - 6:2, 5:7, 7:6 (7:3), earning 450 thousand euros in prize money plus a thousand rating points to boot. The Paris title was the Serb's 16th in his career.Now Djokovic has a week of respite before the final ATP tournament in London, which begins on November 22. And Monfils can pack his bags and go on vacation. All the sporting vicissitudes of this year for the black tennis player are a thing of the past. True, there is only about a month and a half left before the start of the next season.
Meanwhile, the latest ATP final, thanks to the participation of such inimitable players as Djokovic and Monfils, became a worthy end to the season. The Serbian and the Frenchman turned it into an exciting thriller, the script of which cannot be predicted. The confrontation ended only at the end of the key third set, when Djokovic put the finishing touches on his opponent in the tiebreaker. By the way, on the eve of the final, the Serbian called Monfils “the most unpredictable ATP player.”
In turn, the opponent admitted that he does not consider himself an extraordinary tennis player. He just calmly plays match after match, trying to win. True, yesterday's finale stood out from this series. “I don't feel tired at all. “I know that tomorrow I will give my life to win the final,” Monfils said. - I had to play long semi-final and quarter-final matches. But now this is a question of psychology. I want to win, and I won't listen to my body. I have to give it my all to win.”
However, desire alone was not enough to win. And the statistics of personal meetings plus the results of this season eloquently testified in favor of the Serb. It was Djokovic's tenth final this year. He won four championship titles. Not so long ago in Basel, Federer’s homeland, he celebrated his victory over the first racket of the world, upsetting the Swiss fans.
Monfils reached the final only twice this season, winning one of them. True, winning the Paris Masters meant a lot to Monfils. If a black tennis player were to win this competition, he would not only become the fourth Frenchman to win the championship title in the history of this tournament, but would also end the year in the top ten of tennis's elite. Nevertheless, Monfils has nothing to reproach himself with. This was his debut in the Masters finals. Before the start of the French tournament, no one could have predicted such a scenario.
Let us remind you that the first racket of the world, Roger Federer, lost in the opening round of the Paris Masters. The second number in the ranking, Spaniard Rafael Nadal, reached the semi-finals, closing the gap with the Swiss, but lost to Djokovic. True, Nadal even regarded his defeat as a step forward. Let us remind you that Federer, Nadal and Djokovic still have to fight in London.
By the way, it was in Paris that the eight participants in the London final championship were determined. The last two tickets went to Russian Nikolai Davydenko and Spaniard Fernando Verdasco. Thus, the full list of players looks like this: Roger Federer (Switzerland), Rafael Nadal (Spain), Novak Djokovic (Serbia), Andy Murray (Great Britain), Juan Martin del Potro (Argentina), Andy Roddick (USA), Davydenko (Russia) ) and Verdasco (Spain).
Let us remind you that Davydenko will participate in such competitions for the fifth year in a row. “My goal at the start of the season was to finish the year in the top ten, so I'm really happy to not only achieve that goal, but also get to London. I have the most pleasant memories from Shanghai, where the final tournament was held in recent years. Now I’m looking forward to the matches in London,” Davydenko commented on his entry into the final tournament of the year.
For his part, Verdasco said: “I'm happy to qualify for London, it's such a great success to finish in the top eight. This is a new experience for me, it will be my first time there. I will try my best as always and enjoy it as much as I can. “I have heard a lot about the facility where the final competition will be held, and I hope to play there against the best players in the world in the presence of a large number of fans.”