By Chris Oddo | Tuesday October 30, 2018
The quest for No.1 is underway for Novak Djokovic. The Serb, who can overtake Rafael Nadal at the top of the ATP rankings at the end of the week by simply surpassing the Spaniard’s result at the Rolex Paris Masters by one round, defeated Joao Sousa, 7-5, 6-1, to book his spot in the third round at the Paris Masters.
Djokovic will move on to face Damir Dzumhur in the third round. Dzumhur defeated Stefanos Tsitsipas 6-3, 6-3 on Tuesday.
Nadal will face Fernando Verdasco in second-round action on Wednesday in Paris.
Djokovic struggled a bit with energy during his sixth career meeting with Sousa, and let a 4-2 lead slip in the opener when he dumped a backhand into the net to be broken at love.
A few games later Djokovic faced a break point at 5-5, ad-out, and saved it when a Sousa approach passing attempt sailed long.
Moments later Djokovic broke for the set as he raised his game and cracked a forehand crosscourt winner to seal the set.
He would head for the locker room after the set, further indication that he wasn't feeling 100 percent on this evening.
The second set went the way of Djokovic with ease, as he raced out to a 5-0 lead and closed affairs two games later, converting his third match point for the victory in 93 minutes.
Djokovic improves to 6-0 lifetime against Sousa and increases his winning streak to 19 matches. He has not lost since falling to Tsitsipas in the round of 16 at Toronto.