DJOKOVIC, CILIC, FEDERER REACH PARIS MASTERS QUARTERFINALS

Novak Djokovic advanced to the Paris Masters quarterfinals when Damir Dzumhur retired trailing 6-1, 2-1 on Thursday.

Dzumhur had a lengthy massage on his lower back late in the first set and got loud applause when he carried on playing, but after a few more games, he stopped for good. Djokovic was in total control and did not face a break point, breaking Dzumhur's serve three times.

Djokovic, who will reclaim the No. 1 ranking next week regardless of where he finishes, faces Marin Cilic in the quarterfinals.

“I'm obviously very proud of the achievement,” said Djokovic, whose ranking slipped to No. 22 in May as he struggled to shake off a persistent elbow problem. “Five months ago, if you told me that (I would be No. 1 now), it was highly improbable at that time considering my ranking and the way I played and felt on the court.”

Although Djokovic leads Cilic 15-3 overall, Cilic won two of their past three matches — including two years ago in the Paris Masters quarterfinals.

“He has a big serve and big game from back of the court. It's just a very powerful style of tennis,” Djokovic said. “Tough to receive his missiles. You know, first serves are really, really fast, and he uses a lot of rotation and variation with his serve.”

The fifth-seeded Cilic beat ninth-seeded Grigor Dimitrov 7-6 (5), 6-4, needing six set points to win the first set.

Cilic trailed 5-4 during the tiebreaker but won both points on Dimitrov's serve before serving out the first set.

He started the second set by breaking Dimitrov and was largely in charge after that.

Later Thursday, third-seeded Roger Federer defeated Fabio Fognini 6-4, 5-3. Federer is chasing a 100th career title, and Djokovic is looking to win the Paris Masters for a record-extending fifth time.