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Novak Djokovic beat defending champion Holger Rune to book his place in the Paris Masters semi-finals.

The Serb won his 16th match in a row with a 7-5, 6-7(3), 6-4 win over his opponent to avenge his defeat in last year’s Paris Masters final as Rune fell to his first defeat of the tournament.

The pair contested on the same court as the final in a thrilling meeting that saw the world No 1 booed when he disputed a call with the umpire.

Rune upset Djokovic in the Paris title match last year to capture his first Masters 1000 trophy and can still qualify for Turin if Alex de Minaur beats Alexander Zverev on Friday.

Grigor Dimitrov booked his spot in the semi-finals with a 6-1 4-6 6-4 win over Hubert Hurkacz that ended his rival’s hopes of qualifying for the ATP Finals.

It’s the first time since 2017 – the year he won the ATP Finals – that Dimitrov has reached 40 tour-level wins in a season and the Bulgarian will now have the chance to improve that record against seventh-seeded Stefanos Tsitsipas.

Dimitrov has been enjoying a good run of form, also reaching the semi-finals at the Shanghai Masters last month.

“My body is feeling well for now, that’s the most important thing,” said Dimitrov, who converted all three break points he had. “My head is good. If I’m able to play like that on a consistent basis throughout every game, I put myself in a position to do better. Today was no different.”

Tsitsipas defeated Karen Khachanov 6-3 6-4 to record his 300th career win, bringing up match point with a delightful drop shot that had the crowd in raptures.

“It’s working well. It feels good to have so much variety and so much diversity in the way you can play,” the Greek said.

“I take that as an opportunity to keep growing my game and keep looking forward at the many more matches to come and appreciate each moment that comes my way.”

Tsitsipas is yet to drop a set this week as he chases his second tour-level title of the season.

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