Novak Djokovic Closes In On Year-End No. 1 Ranking With 7th Paris Title

With his latest title at the Rolex Paris Masters, world No. 1 Novak Djokovic has all but solidified his eighth Year-End No. 1 ranking.

Pete Sampras ranks second with six.

“He’s most likely locked up the Year-End No. 1 for an 8th time,” Jim Courier of Tennis Channel said after the 36-year-old Serb beat Grigor Dimitrov, 6-4, 6-3, in Sunday’s final.

In winning his 7th Paris Masters title and 40th Masters 1000 crown, Djokovic improved to 12-1 against the Bulgarian.

It was his 97th career title and 6th this season, tied for the most with Carlos Alcaraz.

“I was on the brink of losing three matches in a row prior to today, and you guys helped me with your support on the court but also off the court in recovery and preparation for the next match,” he told his team, “so this is your victory as much as it is mine.”

Djokovic and Andre Agassi (1999) are the only men to win the Paris double — the French Open and Bercy — in the same calendar year.

“I’m running out of words for you, congrats for another amazing week for you and your team,” Dimitrov said on court to Djokovic.

Here are some more numbers on Djokovic this year:

—7th career Paris title, has won 3 of the last 5

—3rd tournament with 7+ titles (Australian Open – 10, Wimbledon -7)

—Has won 31 of 32 matches and has an 18-match winning streak

—33-1 on hard courts this season