A 4-6 6-2 6-3 victory progressed Djokovic into Friday's quarter-finals - in order to concede his prized ranking he would have to lose before the final, and watch Andy Murray lift the trophy.
Djokovic, in the opposite half of the Paris Masters draw to world No 2 Murray, had already edged past Gilles Muller and delivered another gritty performance to oust Dimitrov.
