Defending champion Novak Djokovic was upset by Marin Cilic in the quarter-final of the Paris Masters on Friday. The defeat sees Andy Murray’s path to become the world No. 1 open wide as the Scotsman won his quarter-final, against Tomas Berdych, later the same day.
Cilic won in straight sets 6-4, 7-6. Djokovic was erratic in shot-making, especially when under pressure and it cost him. In the second set, he had a break and served for the set in the 10th game, but was broken back by Cilic to level the set 5-5.
There were no further breaks of serve in the set and in the tie-break, Djokovic once again had the lead as he got a mini-break in the first point of the tie-break. However, he couldn’t hold on to the lead, going on to lose the match. Djokovic had 15 winners to Cilic’s 27, 28 unforced errors to the Croatian’s 36.
This was Cilic's first win over Djokovic in 15 matches, and came a day after he had sealed his spot in the World Tour Finals in London. The defeat ended Djokovic’s 17-match unbeaten streak in the tournament, going back to 2013.
The loss has boosted Murray’s chances, with him needing only one more win – a semi-final win over Milos Raonic – to secure the top place in the ATP rankings.