Paris, Nov 5 (IANS): Novak Djokovic maintained his perfect record in semifinals at the Paris Masters as the world No. 1 prevailed 5-7, 7-6(7-3), 7-5 against the fifth-seeded Andrey Rublev to move within one win of a record-extending seventh title at the ATP Masters 1000.

Djokovic is now 9-0 in semifinals in Paris-Bercy, where he will compete for his 40th Masters 1000 crown in Sunday’s championship match. His opponent there will be Grigor Dimitrov, after the Bulgarian earlier defeated Stefanos Tstisipas 6-3, 6-7 (1-7), 7-6 (7-3), ATP Tour reports.

Should Djokovic win the title on Sunday, he will extend his lead over Carlos Alcaraz to 1490 points in the ATP Live Race To Turin, making it highly likely he will claim the ATP Year-End No. 1 honour for the eighth time.

Rublev now heads to Turin looking to cap a strong year at the ATP Finals. The 26-year-old has particularly excelled at Masters 1000 events in 2023 — he is tied with Jannik Sinner in third for the most match wins at that level this year.