Novak Djokovic kept his fine winning run going as his bid for a fifth Paris Masters title began with a 7-5 6-1 victory over Joao Sousa on Tuesday.
The Serbian has won his last three tournaments – two ATP 1000 events and a grand slam – and can climb to the top of the ATP rankings if he betters Rafael Nadal's performance this week.
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Djokovic registered a 19th consecutive triumph despite a difficult first set, the tournament's most successful singles player initially performing some way below his brilliant best.
The in-form second seed broke early in fairly rudimentary fashion, before exerting himself to rescue three break points and maintain control of the first set.
Après un 1er set accroché @DjokerNole fait parler la poudre et l'emporte contre @joaosousa30 7/5 6/1
— ROLEX PARIS MASTERS (@RolexPMasters) October 30, 2018
La suite pour le Serbe ? @DzumhurDamir #RolexParisMasters pic.twitter.com/zpQvzsXtH3
Djokovic could not prevent the break back when Sousa piled on the pressure again, however, and the Portuguese was left frustrated with the chair umpire when the opportunity for a shock lead dissipated.
The opener instead fell in Djokovic's favour at the last and he worked hard to claim a swift advantage in the second, accelerating out of sight in an ultimately comprehensive victory.
