"This is quite a stat, holy sh*t": Fans react to Novak Djokovic surpassing Roger Federer & Pete Sampras' combined Masters title count after Paris win

World No. 1 Novak Djokovic once again established his dominance on the ATP tour by securing a record seventh Paris Masters title on Sunday (November 5) night.

Djokovic clinched his second ATP Masters 1000 title of 2023 by defeating Grigor Dimitrov in the summit clash. The top seed, who had faced tough three-set matches in the previous rounds, had a comfortable 6-4, 6-3 win against the Bulgarian.

With his 97th ATP title win at Bercy, the Serb is now third on the all-time list behind Jimmy Connors (109) and Roger Federer (103). The win also marked his 40th Masters 1000 level title, surpassing Federer's (28) and Pete Sampras' (11) combined title count (39) in this category.

Tennis fans have now taken to X (formerly Twitter) to express their feelings about Novak Djokovic outweighing the two legends of the sport, with one user writing:

"Imagine making Federer's achievements look miniscule."

Another user wrote:

"I thought Nike said we were entering the ‘Alcaraz era’ after Wimbledon. Djokovic 18-0 with 3 titles since."

One account tweeted:

"I wonder if he ever imagined he would surpass the achievements of his childhood idol."

Here are a few more reactions from tennis fans:

---

Novak Djokovic - "I'm very proud of this one, considering what I’ve been through this week"

The 24-time Grand Slam champion pictured at the 2023 Rolex Paris Masters

During his victory speech, Novak Djokovic discussed how he found an 'extra gear' to win the 2023 Paris Masters after nearly losing his previous-round matches against Tallon Griekspoor, Holger Rune, and Andrey Rublev.

"[It’s] incredible. To be able to win it after quite challenging circumstances for me this week. Basically, coming back from the brink of losing three matches in a row, on Thursday, Friday and Saturday. I was very close to losing those matches and somehow managed to find an extra gear when it was needed," he was quoted as saying by the ATP tour.

The 36-year-old then explained how the title match against Grigor Dimitrov was much closer than what the 6-4, 6-3 scoreline showed, and how he was 'proud' of his victory given his difficulties throughout the week.

"Today, I think we both were quite tight at the beginning, and I could see that he was running out of gas a little bit. Myself as well, but I somehow managed to find an extra shot over the net," he said.

"I think the match was closer than the scoreline indicates, but another amazing win for me. I’m very proud of this one, considering what I’ve been through this week," he added.