BERCY – DJOKOVIC SWEEPS INTO FINAL FROM RICHARD EVANS, PARIS

Written by: Staff on 1st November 2014

BNP Paribas 2014 Masters Tennis Tournament

BERCY – DJOKOVIC SWEEPS INTO FINAL FROM RICHARD EVANS, PARIS

epa04472445 Novak Djokovic of Serbia celebrates winning his semifinal match against Kei Nishikori of Japan at the BNP Paribas 2014 Masters tennis tournament in Paris, France, 01 November 2014. EPA/IAN LANGSDON |

Novak Djokovic, looking like the world No 1 and Milos Roanic, who is starting to look as if he wants to challenge for that position, will face off in the final of the BNP Paribas Masters here on Sunday.

By then the lovely sunshine of an Indian Summer in Paris may have turned to rain but Djokovic and Roanic won’t care. Both are in a good place in this last regular ATP event of a long and exhausting year – ready and willing for one more push in the eight man ATP Finals at London’s 02 Arena in a week’s time.

Novak Djokovic of Serbia returns the ball to Kei Nishikori of Japan during his semifinal match at the BNP Paribas 2014 Masters tennis tournament in Paris, France, 01 November 2014. EPA/IAN LANGSDON

Djokovic hit 20 winners while outplaying a clearly fatigued Kei Nishikori 6…………..while Raonic had to work a great deal harder to overcome a former champion here Tomas Berdych, who won way back in 2005, by 6-3, 3-6, 7-5.

Only a matter of days ago, Roanic seemed to lack the form and confidence to propel himself into London but a stunning victory over Roger Federer in the semi-final – probably the best performance of the Canadian’s career – and another impressive effort against the durable Czech have changed all that.

He puts it all down to hard work. “You plug away,” he replied when I asked him what had caused the sudden switch in fortune. “You work hard every day. There’s no lack of that when it comes to my training sessions. You hope to turn things around. You don’t know when you are going to play your best. One thing I can control is my work ethic and how much I put into it.”

He is a serious young man, this Canadian-raised but Montenegron-born giant who has painstakingly built a tennis game around a massive serve. He is hitting the ball far better off the ground now and, if he brings his volleys up to par and learns when to use them, his huge wing-span should make him an even more formidable opponent than he is now.

For the past year he has been coached by the Monaco-based Ricardo Piatti and the man whom Piatti coached to No 3 in the world, Ivan Ljubicic. I wanted to know what they brought to the party.

“They combine as one person,” Roanic answered. “Ricardo has known Ivan since he was 17 and pretty much he was almost like a father to him. So as much as they speak to me, they speak probably 10 times as much between each other. So the message is coming from two different guys but the message is always the same and consistent.”

The most important message from Roanic’s point of view has been their ability to instill in Milos a sense of what to do on court. “They have given me an understanding of what to do in the important moments and how I need to go about things to give myself the best possibility to win.”

Roanic must be a dream to coach. He is a player who listens and really wants to make the most of what he has. And tries incredibly hard to do what he is told. Not all players are like that.

Milos Raonic of Canada returns the ball to Tomas Berdych of Czech Republic during his semifinal match at the BNP Paribas 2014 Masters tennis tournament in Paris, France, 01 November 2014. EPA/IAN LANGSDON

He started out with a goal of getting into the world’s top fifty but, of course, he has aspirations of going much higher now. “I am learning a lot more about myself, a lot about my potential…..so that changes all the time. It’s great. I think every goal I set this year would be leading me to the finals in London, so to be able to achieve that is very special. It means a lot.”

It will mean a lot to Canadian tennis, too, capping off a hear that has seen Eugenie Bouchard also burst through to become a top ten player on the WTA tour and Vasek Pospisil looking like a player of great potential as well.

The final should be fascinating with the Roanic serve pitted against the Serb’s greatest asset, his return. “It’s true I do rely on my return, it has served me well,” said Djokovic, the new father who admitted that on and, particularly off, court, this would go down as the most enjoyable year of his life. “The return will be a key shot tomorrow. But I must admit it is not much fun playing someone who serves consistently at 120-130 miles per hour.”

It will take concentration, something that has rarely been a problem for this consummate professional. He has obviously been swept up in the thrill of being a father but thoughts of little Stefan will not creep into his mind during the final. “I just get into that zone when I’m playing. I won’t be thinking of anything else. My wife understands that approach. When I’m on court it’s all business.”

Which is one reason why Djokovic is world No 1. The message will not be lost on Raonic.

Topics: Atp, Bercy, Bnp Paribas Masters, milos raonic, Novak Djokovic, Paris, Richard Evans, Tennis

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10sBalls_com says:

November 1, 2014 at 1:16 pm

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