Djokovic’s heartache for Dimitrov he revealed after a controversial...

As the celebrations began for Novak Djokovic’s record-extending 40th Masters 1000 title in Paris last weekend, at the side of the Accor Arena’s vast indoor courts Grigor Dimitrov buried his face in his towel and tried hard to hold off his tears.

His emotion was understandable. Dimitrov had been playing some of the best tennis of his career, picking off Daniil Medvedev and Stefanos Tsitsipas en route to his second Masters 1000 final. He gave everything and yet suffered the same fate he has so many times: a demoralising defeat by Djokovic.

There was a time when it might have been reasonable to suggest that players of Dimitrov’s generation, in the absence of being able to topple the big three, might just wait them out and succeed once they had retired. That has not happened. It is incredible how Djokovic continues to hold off younger rivals.

As another season comes to an end at the ATP Finals in Turin, the defining question is whether anyone can stop the 36-year-old Djokovic from securing a seventh title. Earlier this year, the answer was obvious. Carlos Alcaraz’s incredible triumph in the Wimbledon final could have signified a shift as the 20-year‑old Spaniard took the baton to begin his own dominant period.

Instead Djokovic has done what he always does, using setbacks to rebound stronger. He won the Cincinnati title, then his 24th grand slam at the US Open and then in Paris. He is on an 18-match winning streak having casually pieced together another sensational season with a 51-5 (91%) win-loss record, claiming six titles, and stands a win away from clinching the year-end No 1 ranking.