BNP Paribas Masters 2013: Novak Djokovic Proves He Is World's Best with Title

Novak Djokovic showed the world just how dominant he can be by knocking off David Ferrer 7-5, 7-5 Sunday to take home the 2013 Paris Masters title. The win moved Djokovic’s career record against Ferrer to 11-5.

Ferrer was trying to become the first ever player to win back-to-back championships at the Paris Masters and appeared poised to possibly do so early. However, Djokovic rallied from a 5-3 deficit in each set and kept his hopes alive to earn the world’s No. 1 spot in the near future.

While titles like that at the Paris Masters are certainly impressive in their own right, the world rankings constantly overshadow non-Grand Slam events in much the same way they do in golf for non-majors. The semifinals of the Paris Masters was loaded with some of the top names in tennis, as Ferrer knocked off current world No. 1 Rafael Nadal and Djokovic eliminated former world No. 1 Roger Federer.

Emerging from such a star-studded final four gives Djokovic some momentum in the “best player in the world” discussion despite Nadal’s current ranking.

The fact that Djokovic’s 2013 season is almost seen as ordinary says a lot about his incredible standards. He was dominant in 2011 and 2012, but still has six titles this season and has won 17 consecutive matches. There are plenty of players that would love a season even half that successful.

He won the Australian Open title by knocking off Andy Murray in the championship, reached the French Open semifinals before falling in an incredible back-and-forth affair to Nadal (who always dominates that event) and also made it to the Wimbledon title match, where he ultimately fell short against crowd favorite Andy Murray.

Djokovic also reached the U.S. Open championship but fell short against Nadal there as well.

Despite all the near misses, Djokovic showed at the Paris Masters that he is ready to take off again. His incredible resilience was on display against some of the best in the world when he came back after dropping the first set of the semis to Federer and falling behind in both sets in the championship bout against Ferrer.

The championship in Paris keeps Djokovic’s hopes of finishing the year as the world’s No. 1 player alive and well. He will need to play at a high level once again at the upcoming Barclays ATP World Tour, but considering the names he emerged victorious against in the final two rounds of the Paris Masters, that shouldn’t be an issue.

Djokovic has a career losing record in head-to-head matches against both Nadal and Federer, who both have to be mentioned in any discussion about the best in the world, but he holds recent victories over each. He knocked off Nadal in the final of the China Open in somewhat of a statement match following Nadal’s recent claim to the No. 1 ranking.

Djokovic has that distinction in his sights once again after such an impressive performance in Paris.