Novak Djokovic beats Maxime Cressy in straight units at Paris Masters

Defending champion Novak Djokovic began his chase for a record-extending thirty ninth Masters title by beating Maxime Cressy of the United States 7-6 (1), 6-4 within the second spherical of the Paris Masters. In the primary assembly between the 2, the big-serving Cressy saved three break factors within the eighth sport however then hit two double-faults within the tiebreaker, which Djokovic received with an ace. Cressy additionally double-faulted at 4-4 within the second set at hand two break factors to Djokovic, who broke with a forehand return winner. The Serb transformed his first match level with a backhand volley.

“Difficult to play him definitely in these kind of conditions where balls are flying through the court and it’s quicker than it was last year,” Djokovic mentioned. “So tough to break.” Djokovic confronted no break factors and made solely three unforced errors to 14 for Cressy.

After lifting trophies in Israel and Kazakhstan, Djokovic stretched his successful streak to 10 matches since a loss on the Laver Cup in September. He will subsequent play Karen Khachanov, who outlasted Marc-Andrea Huesler 6-3, 4-6, 6-4. Casper Ruud additionally moved into the third spherical by defeating wild-card entry Richard Gasquet 6-1, 7-6 (7), whereas Holger Rune saved three match factors in a 4-6, 7-5, 7-6 (3) win over Stan Wawrinka.

The third-seeded Ruud raced to a 5-0 lead within the opening set and broke again at 5-3 within the second to drive a tiebreaker. Gasquet squandered a set level at 7-6 by netting a forehand volley. Ruud snapped a poor run of kind after shedding within the first spherical of the Basel and Tokyo tournaments. Meanwhile, Andrey Rublev and Hubert Hurkacz stayed in rivalry for the 2 remaining spots on the ATP Finals.

Rublev cruised previous John Isner 6-2, 6-3 within the second spherical whereas Hurkacz edged wild-card entry Adrian Mannarino 7-6 (5), 6-4 within the first spherical.

The seventh-seeded Rublev beat Isner for the primary time in 4 conferences. Isner dropped serve twice within the opening set and Rublev capitalized on three forehand errors by the American to interrupt for a 3-1 lead within the second. “From the baseline I was feeling really confident,” Rublev mentioned. “As soon as I was returning or the ball was in the game, I feel like I have always advantage, I was not even nervous.” Isner hit 11 aces, however Rublev didn’t face any break factors and proved the higher participant in rallies, making solely 5 unforced errors to 13.

Rublev presently occupies the final ATP Finals spot forward of Fritz and Hurkacz. Carlos Alcaraz, Rafael Nadal, Stefanos Tsitsipas, Ruud, Daniil Medvedev and Djokovic have already certified for the eight-man match. Hurkacz served 20 aces, together with on each set factors, and saved all eight break factors he confronted. Hurkacz hit a forehand return winner for a 5-4 lead within the second set to transform his solely break level of the match.

In different first-round matches, No. 14 seed Pablo Carreno Busta ousted Albert Ramos-Vinolas 6-3, 6-3, French qualifier Corentin Moutet surprised Borna Coric 3-6, 6-3, 6-4, Daniel Evans overcame Brandon Nakashima 6-3, 3-6, 6-4, Jack Draper beat Arthur Rinderknech 6-3, 6-4, fortunate loser Fabio Fognini defeated Arthur Fils 7-6 (5), 6-7 (4), 6-2. Tommy Paul, Denis Shapovalov and Grigor Dimitrov additionally superior to the second spherical. Paul dispatched Roberto Bautista Agut 6-4, 6-4 to arrange a match towards Nadal, Shapovalov rallied previous Francisco Cerundolo 6-7 (2), 6-3, 6-4, and Dimitrov edged Botic van de Zandschulp 7-6 (5), 7-6 (5).