Djokovic Rolls Past Raonic for Paris Title and 600th Career Victory

World number one Novak Djokovic defended his BNP Paribas Paris Masters title on Sunday, cruising past Canadian Milos Raonic 6-2, 6-3 to capture the championship and win the 600th match of his career. The Serb’s victory in Paris also gives him some breathing room over Roger Federer, who was gaining ground on Djokovic for world number one. Federer lost to Raonic in the Paris quarterfinals.

“To be able to win it two years in a row with the final tournament of the year ahead of me, it’s great,” said Djokovic of defending his title. “I played the best match of the entire week today when it was most needed.”

Djokovic broke the Canadian early in the first set to gain the break advantage. He took advantage of the hesitation of Raonic who, despite winning eight straight points at one point, failed to capitalize on three break chances. With a 4-2 lead, Djokovic put a stranglehold on the timid Raonic, rattling off five straight games to close out the opening frame and take a commanding 3-0 lead in the second set.

From there, Djokovic would serve out the match. Raonic fought off two match points before eventually falling in a match that took 83 minutes.

“I thought he played some great tennis, neutralized my serve well,” said Raonic. “He didn’t really give me too many looks. Even on the break chances I had, he played them well. He just made life difficult for me today.”

Despite the loss, Raonic will be in London for the ATP Finals next week. His win over Roger Federer in the quarters put him into the year-end tournament, becoming the first Canadian in history to do so.

Djokovic becomes the fifth active player with 600 career match wins, joining Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, Lleyton Hewitt and David Ferrer.

The 27-year old Djokovic also now has a sizeable lead in the race for year-end number one heading into London.

“Now I cannot affect his matches. I can affect only what I can do in my own matches,” said Djokovic in reference to Federer. “So I’ll try to stay focused on what I need to do and play well in London. Every match that I play and win gets me closer to holding number one at the end of the year.”

Djokovic will be the top-seed next week in London, while Raonic will be the seventh seed in his first ever ATP Finals.