Paris (France) (AFP) – Former circuit boss Novak Djokovic (11th), 39, defeated Monegasque Valentin Vacherot (27th), Tuesday in the first round of the Masters 1000 in Paris, 6-7 (5/7), 7-5, 6-1, after a 2h35 fight, and can still believe in the end-of-season Masters in Turin.
Published on: 03/11/2026 - 17:51
Present for the first time since 2023, the seven-time winner of the Paris tournament will have to reach the last four to hope to be among the eight best players of the season who will be competing in Italy from November 15 to 22.
On Tuesday, he worked to win a 51st match in the Paris Masters and overthrow the Monegasque, who had beaten him in their first semi-final clash in Shanghai in 2025, on the road to his first title.
In the next round, the Serbian will face the Australian Rinky Hijikata, from the qualifications.
Trailing by a set and a break, Djokovic seemed to get off to a bad start against Vacherot, quarter-finalist last year and winner of his second title last Sunday in Basel (ATP 500).
In the first set, the two servers had the advantage for a very long time, not conceding a break or even a break point until "Nole" served to get back to 6-6.
He had to work to put aside three set points before managing to get the tie-break, finally won by Valentin Vacherot on his 4th opportunity (7/5), after 50 minutes.
In a second set where the two men each in turn benefited from a medical timeout (right shoulder for Djokovic, left ankle for Vacherot), the Serbian with 24 Grand Slam titles broke (2-2), after conceding the entry break, then equalized at one set everywhere on Vacherot's service (7-5).
The Monegasque collapsed in the third set, lost 6-1, weighed down by unforced errors unlike Djokovic (19 to 5, and 51 to 26 in total) despite a greater number of winning points (45 to 27 in the entire match).
© 2026 AFP
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