Paris, Nov 16 : Third-seeded Serbian tennis star Novak Djokovic, who defeated local favorite Gael Monfils to win the Paris Masters, has said that it was an extremely difficult game.

“It was unbelievably difficult. Gael was very unpredictable and he was hitting the ball very good,” The Herald Sun quoted Djokovic, as saying.

Djokovic’s first Masters triumph from his five finals in 2009, he defeated Monfils 6-2, 5-7, 7-6 (7-3) in front of a sellout crowd at the Palais Omnisports.

Paris - Novak Djokovic denied Rafael Nadal a 400th career victory Saturday as he crushed the Spaniard 6-2, 6-3 to place into a third ATP final in six weeks at the Paris Masters.

Nadal, seeded second, had no answer on the day for the third- seeded Serb, who will play his tenth final of 2009 against either Czech 13th seed Radek Stepanek or the last home hope in the field, Gael Monfils.

The Djokovic win in 76 minutes was only his sixth in the series against 14 defeats.

Hamburg  - Roger Federer enjoyed another week atop the men's tennis rankings issued on Monday by the ATP, while the man who beat him in the Basle final, Novak Djokovic, closed in on second place.

Federer took 10,340 points into this week's Paris Masters. Spain's Rafael Nadal has 8,845 points and the Serbian Djokovic is on 8,300 after beating Federer in three sets Sunday in his native Switzerland.

London, Oct 25 : Long-term tennis rivals, Serbian Novak Djokovic and Brit Andy Murray, have stayed neck and neck ever over rankings with one displaying exemplary performance to displace the other from top four.

However, Djokovic now insists that he does not pay too much attention to the rankings, although he is well placed to appreciate their value.

Beijing  - Novak Djokovic can return to the world number three ranking later this month if he reaches the final of the China Open on Saturday.

The Serb second seed put himself into a good position for a rise with a 6-3, 1-6, 6-1 quarter-final defeat of Spain's Fernando Verdasco in the Chinese capital Friday.

Third-ranked Andy Murray has withdrawn from next week's Shanghai Masters with a wrist injury, paving the way for Djokovic to make a move upwards.

Cincinnati, Ohio  - Roger Federer will aim to end two Masters-level losses to Novak Djokovic when the pair meet in Sunday's final in Cincinnati.

Federer defeated world number two Andy Murray 6-2, 7-6 (10-8) to snap a four-match loss streak to the Scot.

Novak Djokovic halted five defeats at the hands of third-ranked Rafael Nadal 6-1, 6-4 as the top four players in the world played in the semis at the same event for the first time since April, 2008, at Monte Carlo.

Paris  - Novak Djokovic completed a Serbian double at the French Open Friday as he joined defending champion compatriot Ana Ivanovic in advancing on a sunny day by completing a match interrupted by darkness.

The fourth-seeded Djokovic finished off Sergiy Stakhovsky of the Ukraine 6-3, 6-4, 6-1 and next faces German Philipp Kohlschreiber, winning in a held-over fifth set from the night before.

Playing deep in the outback of Roland Garros, the German number two beat former number one Juan Carlos Ferrero 6-4, 2-6, 6-4, 6-7 (3-7), 6-3.

Paris - Novak Djokovic begins his French Open campaign inspired by a compliment from Spain's Carlos Moya after a four-hour losing battle last weekend against Rafael Nadal.

Djokovic lost a four-hour heartbreaker as Nadal saved three match points in their Madrid semi-final. A day later, the Spaniard went down in the final to Roger Federer.

Djokovic was devastated in the hours after his fighting loss. But he says he was lifted by kind words from Moya, former number one and Paris champion and mentor to fellow islander Nadal of Mallorca.

Madrid - Third seed Novak Djokovic provided the warm-up act for the Madrid Masters clay debut of Rafael Nadal as the Serb squeezed out a 6-3, 6-3 victory over Oscar Hernandez Wednesday.

Nadal, Spain's national tennis hero, was putting his 30-match clay win streak on the line in a second-round clash with Austrian Jurgen Melzer.

World number one Nadal has gone 147-4 on the dirt over the past four years, standing 25-1 in clay finals.

Rome  - Holder Novak Djokovic mowed down Tommy Robredo 6-1, 6-1 as the third seed played untouchable tennis on Thursday to reach the quarter-finals of the Rome Masters.

The Serb, who will compete in his own new event next week in Belgrade, secured a 5-1 career scoreline over the Spaniard, grabbing victory in just 63 minutes.

Djokovic will face the winner from last year's beaten finalist Stan Wawrinka of Switzerland and Argentine fifth seed Juan Del Potro.

Monte Carlo - Third seed Novak Djokovic thwarted the upset plans of Stanislas Wawrinka, defeating the Swiss 4-6, 6-1, 6-3 on Saturday to reach his first final at the Monte Carlo Masters.

Djokovic will test himself against either four-time champion Rafael Nadal or Scottish fourth seed Andy Murray, competing for the first time in his career on clay after a breakthrough week on the surface.

Miami  - Novak Djokovic turned the corner in his career matchups with Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, winning 6-3, 6-4 on Wednesday to reverse a run of four straight losses to the Frenchman and book a semi-final place at the Miami Masters.

The 2007 champion also began turning around his reputation as a shirker, fighting through what he said was a stomach problem as he stayed on court to see out the victory.

Miami  - Novak Djokovic will aim to reverse a run of four consecutive defeats against Frenchman Jo-Wilfried Tsonga as the pair meet in the quarter-finals of the Miami Masters.

Third seed and 2007 champion Djokovic controlled Czech Tomas Berdych in an efficient 6-3, 6-2 victory on Tuesday, while Tsonga, seeded 10th, ousted compatriot Gilles Simon 6-7 (4-7), 6-3, 6-2 in their fourth-round meeting.

Miami  - Former champions Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic revved up their game with overwhelming opening wins to power into the third round of the Miami Masters on Friday as seeds took centre stage.

Number 2 Federer, who triumphed in 2005-2006 at Crandon Park, found his form in a runaway second set as he defeated American Kevin Kim 6-3, 6-2. Djokovic, who triumphed in 2007, beat Canadian Frank Dancevic 6-3, 6-2.

Indian Wells, California  - On-fire American Andy Roddick dismissed Novak Djokovic 6-3, 6-2 to send the defending champion out in the quarter-finals of the Indian Wells Masters on Friday.

The 68-minute rout improved Roddick's best start of his career. He stands 23-3 after playing in his fifth quarter from as many events in 2009.

Djokovic, who won Dubai last month but crashed to a pair of Davis Cup defeats a week later in Spain, was humbled in a little over an hour. Roddick ended each set with a break as the Serb lost serve four times.

Indian Wells, California  - On-fire American Andy Roddick dismissed Novak Djokovic 6-3, 6-2 to send the defending champion out in the quarter-finals of the Indian Wells Masters on Friday.

The 68-minute rout improved Roddick's best start of his career. He stands 23-3 after playing in his fifth quarter from as many events in 2009.

Djokovic, who won Dubai last month but crashed to a pair of Davis Cup defeats a week later in Spain, was humbled in a little over an hour. Roddick ended each set with a break as the Serb lost serve four times.

Indian Wells, California  - Holder Novak Djokovic swept through the first set and struggled in the second before consolidating his Indian Wells Masters title defence campaign with a 6-2, 7-6 (7-1) defeat of Tommy Haas on Tuesday.

The Serbian third seed finally prevailed over the one-time number 2 from Germany - now ranked 64th - in an hour and three-quarters.

Djokovic is bidding for his second title of the season after winning a fortnight ago in Dubai but losing both of his Davis Cup rubbers against Spain.

Indian Wells, California  - Defending champion Novak Djokovic continued to rebuild his fragile confidence with a 7-5, 6-4 win over Argentine Marcel Vassallo Arguello to move into the third round of the Indian Wells Masters on Sunday.

"This year hasn't started maybe the way I thought I would, but now I've raised my confidence in a higher level," said the 2008 Australian Open champion who won his first title of this season a fortnight ago in Dubai.

"Winning there meant a lot for my confidence level and for my game overall."

Dubai, UAE  - Novak Djokovic gave his confidence a huge boost on Saturday as he tuned up for next week's Davis Cup tie with Spain with a trophy at the Barclays Championships 7-5, 6-3 over David Ferrer.

The Serb top seed said that prior to the upcoming challenge on clay in front of a Spanish crowd of 15,000 in Benidorm, he feels his game is lifting after securing his first title of a slow-starting 2009 season.

Djokovic won an event which was decimated by late withdrawals, including former winners Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer.

Dubai, UAE  - Novak Djokovic overcame a patchy effort littered with breaks of serve before lifting his first title of 2009 with a 7-5, 6-3 win over David Ferrer at the Barclays Championships on Saturday.

The Serb world number 3 improved to 4-3 against Spain's scampering Ferrer, the second finalist from his nation in as many years at the Aviation club after Feliciano Lopez lost in 2008 to Andy Roddick.

The match was a preview of next weekend's Davis Cup World Group tie in Spain.