Paris Masters 2021 - Novak Djokovic defeats Marton Fucsovics to reach the next round in Paris
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Updated 03/11/2021 at 09:01 GMT
Men's world tennis number one Novak Djokovic returned to competitive action in the Paris Masters in France on Tuesday night. The Serbian, who last played in the US Open final in a losing appearance in September, needed three sets to defeat his Hungarian opponent Marton Fucsovics.
Djokovic beats Fucsovics to reach the last 16 at the Paris Masters
Novak Djokovic enjoyed a winning return to action at the Paris Masters as he beat Marton Fucsovics 6-2 4-6 6-3 in the second round.
Djokovic was playing his first singles match since his defeat to Daniil Medvedev in the US Open final in September.
He recovered from a second set dip to beat Fucsovics in two hours and set up a clash with either Adrian Mannarino or Gael Monfils.
"It was great to be back on the court after almost two months without competition,” said Djokovic.
“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.”
Djokovic has the chance to break Pete Sampras' record for the most year-end No 1 finishes if he wins the title in Paris for a sixth time.
“It is just about spending time on court, finding that match play intensity and playing more points,” he 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.”
The 34-year-old Serbian was able to break his opponent twice in the first set and showed a disciplined and accurate service game, but was also far more dangerous when receiving compared to his Hungarian opponent.
However Djokovic was made to work hard for the win as Fucsovics rallied to take the second set 6-4 and levelling the match at one set all.
In the decisive third, the experienced world No 1 moved quickly into a 3-1 lead and kept his nose ahead for victory.
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