Despite dropping a set World No. 1 Novak Djokovic made a winning return to business on the ATP tour at the Rolex Paris Masters, following his end of season meltdown in Tokyo and New York.
The Serb, who has won this event five times, beat Marton Fucsovics 6-2,4-6,6-3 in two hours to set up a third round match with either Adrian Mannarino or local hero Gael Monfils.
Djokovic said afterwards “It was great to be back on the court after almost two months without competition,”
“I did not expect anything but I knew this was not going to be an easy match. Marton is a very talented player, he has a lot of quality. It was a great fight. I couldn’t break his serve, he was playing with a lot of precision and we pushed each other to the limit. It was a great opening match for me. I am very pleased.”
The Serbs hopes of a season Grand Slam had been dashed in New York by Daniil Medvedev, but has anther opportunity in Paris this week to make history.
A win would clinch his seventh-year end No. 1 finish in the Fedex ATP Rankings and break his tie with Pete Sampras for the most year end top finishes in history.
“It is just about spending time on court, finding that match play intensity and playing more points,” Djokovic added. “The more matches I play, I think I am going to get better. I know myself well, I was in this situation before, quite a lot of times, so hopefully experience can play a role in doing the job well.”
Main photo:- Novak Djokovic celebrates victory on return to ATP tour – by Corinne Dubreuil/Rolex Paris Masters
