<p>World number one Novak Djokovic cruised to a record-extending seventh Paris Masters title and became the first player to claim 40 Masters ATP 1000 titles when the top-seeded Serbian thumped Bulgarian Grigor Dimitrov 6-4 6-3 in the final on Sunday.</p><p>Djokovic's sixth trophy this season helped him to extend his lead over the second-ranked Carlos Alcaraz in the race to the year-end number one spot and the 24-times Grand Slam champion will head to the ATP Finals primed to seal the deal.</p><p>"It's incredible to be able to win after quite challenging circumstances for me this week," Djokovic said. "Coming back from the brink of losing three matches in a row on Thursday, Friday and Saturday.</p><p>"I was close to losing those matches and somehow managed to find an extra gear when it was needed. Today, we both were quite tight at the beginning, and I could see that he was running out of gas a little bit."</p><p>"Myself as well but I managed to find an extra shot over the net. The match was closer than the scoreline indicates but another amazing win for me. I'm very proud of this one."</p><p>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.</p><p>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 Masters crown.</p><p>It put him four Masters titles ahead of his nearest rival Rafa Nadal.</p><p>Djokovic is three wins away from 100 Open Era titles, with only Jimmy Connors (109) and Roger Federer (103) above him.</p><p>Victory was sealed when Dimitrov sent a backhand wide, extended Djokovic's winning run to 18 matches since his defeat by Alcaraz in the Wimbledon title clash in July, leaving him red hot for the season-ending ATP Finals starting on Nov. 12.</p><p>Dimitrov sobbed into his towel after missing the opportunity to claim his first title in six years.</p><p>"I've been in these situations before many times... losing finals," said Djokovic, who stopped his on-court interview to give Dimitrov a hug.</p><p>"I've been blessed to of course win more finals than I've lost. I really hope he'll continue to play at a high level. He's been playing some of his best tennis this week and I wish him all the best. I hope he can win big events." </p>
<p>World number one Novak Djokovic cruised to a record-extending seventh Paris Masters title and became the first player to claim 40 Masters ATP 1000 titles when the top-seeded Serbian thumped Bulgarian Grigor Dimitrov 6-4 6-3 in the final on Sunday.</p><p>Djokovic's sixth trophy this season helped him to extend his lead over the second-ranked Carlos Alcaraz in the race to the year-end number one spot and the 24-times Grand Slam champion will head to the ATP Finals primed to seal the deal.</p><p>"It's incredible to be able to win after quite challenging circumstances for me this week," Djokovic said. "Coming back from the brink of losing three matches in a row on Thursday, Friday and Saturday.</p><p>"I was close to losing those matches and somehow managed to find an extra gear when it was needed. Today, we both were quite tight at the beginning, and I could see that he was running out of gas a little bit."</p><p>"Myself as well but I managed to find an extra shot over the net. The match was closer than the scoreline indicates but another amazing win for me. I'm very proud of this one."</p><p>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.</p><p>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 Masters crown.</p><p>It put him four Masters titles ahead of his nearest rival Rafa Nadal.</p><p>Djokovic is three wins away from 100 Open Era titles, with only Jimmy Connors (109) and Roger Federer (103) above him.</p><p>Victory was sealed when Dimitrov sent a backhand wide, extended Djokovic's winning run to 18 matches since his defeat by Alcaraz in the Wimbledon title clash in July, leaving him red hot for the season-ending ATP Finals starting on Nov. 12.</p><p>Dimitrov sobbed into his towel after missing the opportunity to claim his first title in six years.</p><p>"I've been in these situations before many times... losing finals," said Djokovic, who stopped his on-court interview to give Dimitrov a hug.</p><p>"I've been blessed to of course win more finals than I've lost. I really hope he'll continue to play at a high level. He's been playing some of his best tennis this week and I wish him all the best. I hope he can win big events." </p>