Paris triumph enables Djokovic to pull away

TOP MAN: Novak Djokovic celebrates his victory over Milos Raonic in Paris.

Djokovic needed just 83 minutes to see off Canadian seventh seed Raonic 6-2 6-3 and secure the 20th ATP World Tour Masters 1000 crown of his career.

In the process, he became the fifth active player to pass the 600-mark with Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, Lleyton Hewitt and David Ferrer the others.

But perhaps more significantly, the 27-year-old Serb stretched his lead over Federer to 1,310 points in the race to end the year as world No 1.

Djokovic, who is now unbeaten in 27 indoor matches, broke early on, but had to survive a scare in the seventh game, in which he trailed 0-40.

However, from 4-2 up, he won five successive games to secure the first set and establish a 3-0 lead in the second, and although Raonic, who knocked out Federer in the quarter-finals, responded, he could not find a way back into the final.

“I played the best match of the entire week when it was most needed,” said Djokovic.

“I got a lot of returns back and just overall I’m extremely happy with the performance.”

On the race to finish the year as world No 1, Djokovic added: “I can affect only what I can do in my own matches.

“So I’ll try to stay focused on what I need to do and play well in London.

“Every match that I play and win gets me closer to holding  No 1 at the end of the year.

“It helps that I won the title in Bercy, that I’m playing well, and that I’m feeling good about myself – that encourages me.”

Fourth seed Andrea Petkovic staged a gritty fightback to claim victory over Flavia Pannetta and lift the Garanti Koza WTA Tournament of Champions in Sofia.

The German looked to be heading for a crushing defeat after she managed to take just one game in the first set with Italian Pannetta clinching it 6-1 in just 36 minutes.

However, Petkovic rallied in the second to break in the opening game, an advantage she retained to take it 6-4.

Her resurgence looked to have been curbed when third seed Pannetta took a 2-0 lead in the deciding set, but a run of six games in the final seven saw her close out a 1-6 6-4 6-3 victory.