Novak Djokovic tightened his grip on the ATP Year-End No. 1 presented by Pepperstone honour Wednesday when he moved past Tomas Martin Etcheverry 6-3, 6-2 to reach the third round at the Rolex Paris Masters.
“I am pleased,” Djokovic said. “I think I played well in the important points. Hit the extra shot and made him uncomfortable. I think I changed the position of the court and did not give him the same look. I think that allowed me to break serve in the first set. I was serving up and down. Some parts of the match really good, others losing the rhythm. But I think it is normal to be rusty a little bit after not playing an official match for so long. But a straight-sets win against a guy who has been improving so much.”
The World No. 1 leads Carlos Alcaraz by 580 points in the Pepperstone ATP Live Race To Turin and could extended his advantage to 1,495 points by winning a record-extending seventh title in Paris-Bercy after the Spaniard lost in his opening match on Tuesday.
In front of a packed crowd on Court Central, Djokovic was in complete control against Etcheverry, who has tracked his ATP Pepperstone Ranking position in comparison to the Serbian in recent years.
Started from the bottom now we here 📸 📈 pic.twitter.com/iBsAJM2YWm
— Tennis TV (@TennisTV) May 11, 2023
The 36-year-old hit with precision from the baseline, pulling the Argentine from corner to corner. He broke Etcheverry’s serve three times and committed just nine unforced errors to advance after one hour and 23 minutes. The 96-time tour-level champion holds a standout 46-9 record at the indoor hard-court event.
Djokovic is chasing a record-extending 40th ATP Masters 1000 title and will next play Dutchman Tallon Griekspoor. The top seed, who is 47-5 on the year, is competing in singles for the first time since the Davis Cup in September. He has lifted major trophies at the Australian Open, Roland Garros and US Open this year, while also triumphing in Cincinnati and Adelaide.
“People around me always talk about the danger of not playing so many weeks and I am aware,” said Djokovic, who was competing for the first time in six weeks. “I felt nerves going into the match even though I have plenty of experience. But you need some time to get the engine going and to hit through the ball and that is what started to happen to me at end of first set and that was great.”