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PARIS, Nov. 2-- A high-reel semifinal encounter awaits Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer after they conquered respective opponents at the ATP Paris Masters here on Friday. Djokovic, set to become world No. 1 at the upcoming ATP rankings, came back from one set down to see off fifth-seeded Marin Cilic 4-6, 6-2, 6-3, extending his winning streak to 21 matches. Despite leading 15-2 in previous head-to-heads, Djokovic lost two of their last three encounters, including one at the same stage of the Paris Masters two years ago resulting in his slump from the world's top position. Both players maintained their serves eight games into the match. Cilic took the initiative in the ninth game through his first break after Djokovic's backhand went long. Cilic bagged the first set win in his pocket later on, seeing Djokovic's personal-best 30 consecutive sets victory snapped. Djokovic put up his strong comeback early in the second set by breaking his Croatian rival's serve in the fourth game. After establishing a 4-1 lead, Djokovic went on to force a decider. Djokovic's precise cross-court smash earned him a break in the eighth game to move in front 5-3 in the decider. The Serbian didn't waste his first match point following Cilic's poor backhand. "It was a very close match. It went all the way to the last shot basically," admitted Djokovic. "I was kind of going up and down. I thought I could have maybe served better, especially second serve." | 
