Paris Masters: Records tumble to relentless Novak Djokovic

A record fourth Paris Masters title was claimed by a relentless Novak Djokovic Sunday as the Serbian continued his unbeaten finish to the 2015 season.

Britain’s Andy Murray was the latest to come up short as Djokovic extended his run to 22 matches in the final at Bercy.

Djokovic won 6-2 6-4 to break out of a tie with his coach Boris Becker for titles at the prestigious indoor event in the French capital.

He is also the first man to win six Masters 1000 crowns during a single season with his 26th overall at this level.

Murray, so impressive on his march to the final, would have secured the end of season number two spot with a win over Djokovic but this never looked likely after an early break saw him trail in the first set.

A second break at 5-2 secured the opener for Djokovic and when he broke through again to lead 2-1 in the second set Murray’s resistance looked over.

But the Scot signaled his fightback by breaking back and was 30-0 ahead on Djokovic’s next service game.

But the world number one reeled off eight of the next nine points to assume control again and victory was then a formality.

For the two-time defending champion it was his third straight Paris crown, adding to his 2009 triumph.

He will head for the concluding ATP Tour Finals as defending champion and in fine fettle, beaten just five times all season with three grand slam titles under his belt.

Only defeat to Stanislas Wawrinka in the final of the French Open on the Paris clay at Roland Garros prevented his clean sweep of the four majors in tennis.

Murray, beaten for the 10th title in 11 meetings with Djokovic, will have home support at the ATP Tour Finals in London before heading to Belgium to spearhead Great Britain’s Davis Cup final challenge against the hosts.

Despite his defeat, Murray took heart from becoming the first Briton since Tim Henman in 2003 to reach the Paris final.

“Congratulations to Novak. It’s been a great year for him,” he said.

It’s been a great week for me - first time past the quarterfinals. That’s progress and I hope to be back next year.”

Venus revival

Meanwhile, a resurgent Venus Williams beat Karolina Pliskova of the Czech Republic in two tight sets to win the WTA Elite Trophy in China Sunday and move back into the top 10 of the rankings.

At 35, Williams is the oldest player to achieve that feat in 20 years, claiming her third title of 2015.

“It’s a great thing to be top 10 now with the level of the game, but I’m still very hungry. I’m ready for more,” Williams told the official WTA website.

“I’ve had so many experiences in tennis that I still expect a lot from myself. So I’m very happy to be moving forward, but I also want to continue, and not stop here.”

Pliskova offered stiff resistance, but Williams took the title with a 7-5 7-6 victory.