Novak Djokovic puts No 1 spot nearly out of reach for Roger Federer

Djokovic won the Paris Masters on Sunday

Novak Djokovic brushed aside Canada’s Milos Raonic 6-2, 6-3 to win the Paris Masters (GETTY IMAGES)

If there were any doubts as to who would be the favourite to win next week’s Barclays ATP World Tour Finals in London they were surely dispelled by Sunday’s climax to the Paris Masters.

Novak Djokovic, whose world No 1 ranking had been under threat from Roger Federer at the start of the week, won his sixth title of the year and the 47th of his career when he beat Milos Raonic 6-2, 6-3 in a final that was every bit as one-sided as the scoreline suggested. It was Djokovic’s second title in a row in Paris and his third in total.

Raonic, playing in his second Masters Series final, had brushed aside Federer in straight sets in the quarter-finals, but struggled from the moment he was broken in his opening service game. The 23-year-old Canadian, who has qualified for the World Tour Finals for the first time, dominates many opponents with his huge serve, but in Djokovic he was facing the best returner in the men’s game.

Striking the ball with his usual consistency, Djokovic won the first three games, held serve at 4-2 despite going 0-40 down and made a second break to take the first set. The world No 1 quickly took control of the second and closed out victory after just 83 minutes with a forehand winner down the line. Djokovic took a medical timeout for treatment on his right leg during the first set but the problem did not appear to hinder him.

Playing his first tournament since the birth of his son the previous week, Djokovic did not drop a set in winning his 20th Masters Series title with his 600th match victory.

Djokovic is now 1,310 points clear of Federer at the top of the world rankings, which should ensure that he finishes the year as No 1. Each round-robin victory at the World Tour Finals is worth 200 points, while an undefeated champion wins 1,500 points.