Djokovic eases past Dimitrov to win record-extending Paris title

PARIS : World number one Novak Djokovic cruised to a record-extending seventh Paris Masters title on Sunday when the top-seeded Serbian outclassed Bulgarian Grigor Dimitrov 6-4 6-3 in the final.

In a clash featuring the two oldest players in the world's top 20, the 36-year-old Djokovic drew first blood, breaking the 17th-ranked Dimitrov for a 4-3 lead in the opening set, and he closed it out comfortably in 51 minutes.

The unseeded Dimitrov's only victory over Djokovic in 12 previous meetings came a decade ago and although the 32-year-old put up more of a fight in the second set, he could not prevent Djokovic from taking his 40th ATP Masters 1000 title.

Victory was sealed when Dimitrov sent a backhand wide, extended Djokovic's winning run to 18 matches since his defeat by Carlos Alcaraz in the Wimbledon title clash in July.