Djokovic wins Paris opener as Federer confirms return

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Novak Djokovic's pursuit of the season-ending world number one spot continued with a 7-5 6-1 victory over Portuguese qualifier Joao Sousa in the second round of the Paris Masters on Tuesday.

World No.2 Djokovic, who received a first-round bye, broke his opponent's serve four times to extend his winning run to 19 matches.

The 31-year-old Serb has returned to his brutal best this season with Grand Slam wins at Wimbledon and the US Open, along with ATP Masters triumphs in Cincinnati and Shanghai.

For Djokovic to surpass top-ranked Rafael Nadal when the next edition of the ATP rankings are released on Monday, he must outlast the Spaniard in the French capital this week.

If both players lose in the same round, Nadal will retain the world number one ranking heading into the season-ending ATP Finals in London next month.

Switzerland's Roger Federer poses with ball boys after winning his final match against Romanian Marius Copil (not pictured) at the ATP 500 Swiss Indoors tennis tournament in Basel, October 28, 2018. /VCG Photo

Meanwhile, Roger Federer, who is chasing his 100th career title after winning the Swiss championships in Basel last week, has confirmed he will play at the event for the first time since 2015.

He is set to play Canada's Milos Raonic on Wednesday after receiving a bye in the first round.

It is the first non-Grand Slam event to feature Federer, Nadal and Djokovic since last year's Indian Wells Masters.

"I feel like it's better for me to play matches rather than practice, and I think that's it. As long as I don't feel like I'm taking a chance on my health prior to London (the ATP Tour Finals), that's the key as well," Federer said.

"I'm happy to play (on Wednesday). I feel like I recovered well from last week. So yeah, I'll give it a go tomorrow. I'm excited," Federer noted on Tuesday.

Source(s): AFP ,Reuters