"He was a little less confident" - Hall of Fame journalist feels Novak Djokovic was rattled by the crowd supporting Stefanos Tsitsipas during Paris SF

American sports journalist and Hall of Famer Steve Flink has given his opinion on how Novak Djokovic was rattled by the crowd supporting Stefanos Tsitsipas during their Paris Masters semifinal clash.

Defending champion Novak Djokovic advanced to the Paris Masters final after a hard-fought 6-2, 3-6, 7-6(4) victory over Stefanos Tsitsipas.

The Serbian won easily in the first set, after which the Greek raised his level to win the second set. The final set was decided by a tie-break, where the former World No. 1 demonstrated his superiority at critical moments in the match.

In light of this, Steve Flink recently spoke with David Bellinson on a podcast about Djokovic's semifinal match with Tsitsipas. The American claimed that while the 21-time Grand Slam champion was in excellent condition in the opening set, he felt a little jarred and less confident when the crowd began to support the Greek more in the second set.

"Novak hadn't lost a set all week, and he was on his winning streak too. He had won his last three tournaments, going back to Wimbledon and two in a row in the autumn. He didn't lose a set coming into Tsitsipas and that was an interesting match because he won the first set really comfortably 6-2, then had a 0-30 opening at the start of the second set," Flink said.

"Stefanos got out of that game, started waving his arms up with the crowd, he really played with the crowd and I don't say that grudgingly, I think it was wise because he wanted to let the crowd react, to use a little boost there, 'help me out', and they did. They really got behind him and Novak. You could see that he was a little bit jarred by that. He wasn't angry, he just was a little more low-key, a little less confident," he added.

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"I'll let everyone discuss that"- Novak Djokovic on the GOAT debate

Novak Djokovic pictured at the Nitto ATP Finals.

In an interview with RMC Sport, Novak Djokovic asserted that there are many aspects involved in the GOAT debate and that he will let others make that decision on who deserves the title.

"We have a lot of factors that are included in this discussion about who the GOAT is. I'll let everyone discuss that. I am very motivated to make the history of our sport," he said.

The former World No. 1 also revealed that the desire to win the sport's biggest titles and go down in history as one of its best-ever players is what keeps him going to date.

"Every time I'm on the court with the racket, even on the day I'm not very motivated, I'm looking for inspiration to improve my game. This is the number one condition for which I continue to play tennis after twenty years," Djokovic said.

"Then there is the ambition to win the biggest titles we have in our sport and to be in history. I am in a particular era. I am in a position to make history in my sport. That's maybe the biggest motivation to compete again," he added.