Novak Djokovic battled from behind to beat Valentin Vacherot 6-7 (5/7), 7-5, 6-1 in the first round of the Paris Masters on Tuesday, while Ben Shelton opened his campaign with a comfortable win. For the Serbian 24-time Grand Slam champion, it marked a return to winning ways at ATP 1000-level tournaments for the first time since his run to the fourth round at Indian Wells back in March. Djokovic also exacted his own bit of revenge on Vacherot in just the second meeting between the pair — the Monegasque downed the 39-year-old on his way to a sensational Shanghai Masters title last season.
Djokovic is currently 11th in the race to the eight-man tournament in Turin. In his last appearance at the tournament in 2023, he lifted the trophy for the seventh time.
“I knew that coming into the court it was going to be a very tight match as it was,” Djokovic told reporters. “He’s very confident and he’s one of the best servers we have in the game,” he added of Vacherot, who lifted the second title of his career last week in Basel. However, he insisted his main focus was not the ATP Finals but “to win every match” on his return to the Paris Masters.
Vacherot then received treatment for a foot issue and soon found himself level at one set each as Djokovic displayed his trademark killer instinct to seize his first break opportunity in the 12th game of the set and send the match to a decider. The 10th seed ground down Vacherot in his first service game to get his nose in front before then running away with the match.
The American then ceded centre stage to Gael Monfils for a ceremony to honour the career of the hugely popular French player, who retired last month at the age of 40.
