Defending champion Novak Djokovic opened his Paris Masters marketing campaign with a routine 7-6(1) 6-4 win over Maxime Cressy on Tuesday, whereas Andrey Rublev and Hubert Hurkacz stayed within the hunt for a spot on the ATP Finals with straight-sets victories.
Djokovic, a six-times winner on the ATP Masters 1000 occasion within the French capital, was made to toil within the opening set by Cressy however emerged unscathed after the American double-faulted twice within the tiebreak.
The Serbian raised his recreation within the second set, breaking his opponent at 4-4 earlier than serving out the match with ease.
“It was very intense, just a lot of pressure. When you play someone that serves this well – first and second serve – you don’t have much room to relax and maybe play kind of a softer few games,” stated 21-times main champion Djokovic.
“A break came at the right time, perfect time actually. I was very pleased with the way I held my serve, didn’t face a break point.”
Earlier, Rublev was strong on return as he broke the big-serving John Isner 3 times to progress 6-2 6-3 in simply over an hour and declare his first win in 4 profession conferences towards the American.
“It is a really important win at this moment when I am fighting for Turin,” stated the 25-year-old, who’s vying for one of many two remaining spots on the season-ending ATP Finals.
“I think I was a bit lucky. It was his first tournament since his bad injury. From the baseline I was feeling really confident. As soon as I was returning and the ball was in play, I felt I had an advantage and wasn’t nervous.”
Poland’s Hurkacz fired 20 aces and saved eight break factors to beat French left-hander Adrian Mannarino 7-6(5) 6-4 to remain on a course for a possible third-round conflict towards Rublev.
Third-seeded Casper Ruud, who has already certified for the ATP Finals, defeated French wild card Richard Gasquet 6-1 7-6(7) after an exhilarating second set, the place the Norwegian bounced again from 3-5 down.
In the opposite matches, French qualifier Corentin Moutet downed Borna Coric 3-6 6-3 6-4 and Dan Evans of Britain noticed off American teenager Brandon Nakashima 6-3 3-6 6-4.
