Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer are battling in the Rolex Paris Masters semi-finals and the stakes are as great as they’ve ever been.They are heading to a decider after Djokovic took the first set 7-6(6) and Federer converted a late break for 7-5 in the second.

The Serbian and the Swiss renew their rivalry for a 47th time, with Djokovic leading the storied FedEx ATP Head2Head by a tally of 24-22. The last time they met, in the Cincinnati final this year, Djokovic streaked to a straight-set victory.

This time, Federer is bidding to exact his revenge and move one step closer to a stunning 100th tour-level title. It has been nearly three years since he last defeated his Serbian rival, with his last triumph coming at the Nitto ATP Finals in 2015. Djokovic, meanwhile, is eyeing a 23rd straight match win this year, which would put him in a fourth consecutive final.

Following their Cincinnati encounter in August, Federer described his returning performance as one of the worst of his career. He claimed just 26 per cent of such points and looked to flip the script as they entered the fast indoor courts of Paris-Bercy on Saturday. But as proceedings got underway, Djokovic’s delivery proved to be untouchable once again. 

And the Serbian was on the prowl with Federer serving at 3-4, forcing the Swiss to retreat to his backhand corner as he stood tall on the baseline. Federer would save four break points in that game, including a moment of magic that put his razor reflexes to the test. A Djokovic forehand clipped the net and spun towards Federer’s head, but the Swiss quickly raised his racquet and struck a sublime drop volley to the delight of the Parisian faithful.

The riveting first set would proceed to a tie-break and Djokovic would seize the initiative, denying a set point and sealing the opener when a Federer backhand slid wide. He fired nine winners in the 71-minute opening set.

Djokovic owns a commanding 17-1 record against Federer when winning the opener, but the Swiss looked to turn the tables in the second. They once again remained on serve throughout the set, but it was Federer who came up clutch in the critical stage. With Djokovic serving to force another tie-break, his Swiss rival pounced, reeling off 9 of 11 points to suddenly snatch a late break and send the encounter to a decider. He launched a forehand winner down the line to seize the set.

Djokovic’s inability to convert on 10 break points shined bright, particularly in the first game of the third set. The second seed had a 15/40 look, but Federer clamped down once again. In faster conditions, the Swiss’ serve is as reliable a weapon as any and it frequently did damage on Saturday.

View FedEx ATP Head2Head for the following match-up at the Rolex Paris Masters and vote for the players you think will win!
Djokovic vs Federer | Thiem vs Khachanov

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Since the start of the 2011 season in which he rose to No. 1 in the ATP Rankings, Djokovic is 18-9 against Federer, with two wins each at the Australian Open, Wimbledon and US Open. Djokovic also defeated Federer in the 2013 Rolex Paris Masters semi-finals. Regardless of Saturday’s result, the Serbian will return to No. 1 on Monday. If he beats Federer, Djokovic will eliminate the Swiss from contention for World No. 1 in the year-end rankings. Djokovic is two wins shy of tying Rafael Nadal’s record with 33 ATP Masters 1000 titles. Federer is two wins shy of his 100th career title.

“I’m always excited to play against him, particularly because it’s been a long time [since we’ve played] and I feel I can just go out there and see what happens,” Federer said. “I came here to Paris with no expectations and figuring that I’d just play a match or two, thinking I’d probably lose because I was too tired after Basel.

“My priority is London, but now I am so far into the tournament I’ll just give it a go and hope things click for me. I’ll have to play well when it matters most. He’s on an incredible streak again , but I hope I can worry him a little bit tomorrow.”

In the first semi-final of the day, meeting for the first time are World No. 8 Dominic Thiem and No. 18 Karen Khachanov. Thiem joined Djokovic and Federer in the Nitto ATP Finals field when Kei Nishikori lost on Friday. The 25-year-old Austrian is attempting to reach his third ATP Masters 1000 final and capture the biggest title of his career. Khachanov is appearing in his second ATP Masters 1000 semi-final after falling to No. 1 Nadal in Toronto on 11 August. The 22-year-old Russian entered Paris with a 3-16 record against Top 10 opponents. If he defeats Thiem, Khachanov will have earned three Top 10 wins in as many days after beating No. 9 John Isner on Thursday and No. 5 Alexander Zverev on Friday.

– Joshua Rey contributed to this story

Croatia’s Marin Cilic and Austria’s Dominic Thiem have clinched the two final spots at the prestigious season-ending tournament, to be held from 11-18 November at The O2 in London, as a result of Friday’s play at the Rolex Paris Masters.

Cilic has secured his place at the season finale for the fourth time (also 2014, 2016-17), while Thiem will compete for the third consecutive year. They will join World No. 1 Rafael Nadal of Spain, Serbia’s five-time former champion Novak Djokovic, Swiss six-time former titlist Roger Federer, Juan Martin del Potro of Argentina, Germany’s Alexander Zverev and first-time participant Kevin Anderson of South African at the elite event.

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This season, the 30-year-old Cilic claimed his second Fever-Tree Championships crown at The Queen’s Club in June (d. Djokovic), and reached his third Grand Slam championship final (also 2014 US Open and 2017 Wimbledon) at the Australian Open in January (l. to Federer). He also advanced to semi-finals at two Masters 1000 tournaments — the Internazionali BNL d’Italia in Rome (l. to A. Zverev) and the Western & Southern Open in Cincinnati (l. to Djokovic) — plus the last four at the Tata Open Maharashtra (l. to Simon), an ATP World Tour 250-level event in Pune. World No. 7 Cilic, who rose to a career-high No. 3 in the ATP Rankings on 29 January 2018, has won at least one ATP World Tour title for 11 consecutive years (2008-2018). His 18 career titles are the second-most for a Croatian behind Goran Ivanisevic with 22 crowns.

Thiem, 25, has recorded 50+ match wins for the second time in his career — compiling a 53-17 match record with three titles, bettered only by his 2016 season when he posted a 58-24 mark with four titles. The World No. 8 has lifted trophies in 2018 at three ATP World Tour 250-level tournaments — the Argentina Open in Buenos Aires (d. Bedene), the Open Parc Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes Lyon (d. Simon) and the St. Petersburg Open (d. Klizan). He also finished as runner-up at Roland Garros (l. to Nadal), his first Grand Slam championship final, and for the second successive year at the Mutua Madrid Open (l. to Zverev), a Masters 1000 event.

In the doubles field, Oliver Marach/Mate Pavic, Juan Sebastian Cabal/Robert Farah, Lukasz Kubot/Marcelo Melo, Jamie Murray/Bruno Soares, Mike Bryan/Jack Sock, Raven Klaasen/Michael Venus, Nikola Mektic/Alexander Peya and Pierre-Hugues Herbert/Nicolas Mahut have secured their places.

Per ATP rules, the doubles field will be determined on 5 November following the conclusion of the Rolex Paris Masters, the final tournament of the regular ATP World Tour season. On that date, it will be determined what the eight teams will be as both Bob Bryan and Mike Bryan and also Mike Bryan and Jack Sock currently have sufficient points in the ATP Doubles Race To London to secure a place at the season finale. Bob Bryan has been sidelined due to a hip injury since May, but he may be fit enough to return with his twin brother to the prestigious event.

2018 DRAW CEREMONY:
The draw for the 2018 Nitto ATP Finals will be conducted live on The One Show (from 7-7:30pm GMT) on BBC One television on Monday, 5 November.

2018 GROUP NAMES:
The Finals Club, an initiative launched by the ATP in 2015 as a way of celebrating the past champions and heritage of the season-ending tournament since its inception in 1970, will this year honour players from the 2000s. As such, the group names for singles and doubles will honour players who enjoyed remarkable success at the season finale during that decade:

In singles:
– Group Guga Kuerten (containing the No. 1 seed) – 2000 champion
– Group Lleyton Hewitt (containing the No. 2 seed) – 2001 and 2002 champion

In doubles:
– Group Knowles/Nestor (containing the No. 1 seeds) – 2007 champions
– Group Llodra/Santoro (containing the No. 2 seeds) – 2005 champions

The Nitto ATP Finals welcomes more than 250,000 fans to The O2 arena annually, as well as generating global viewership figures reaching an average of 95 million viewers each year, as the ATP’s best eight singles players and doubles teams compete over eight days at the biggest indoor tennis tournament in the world.