Djoko cruises past Etcheverry

Novak Djokovic

Novak Djokovic returned to the court on Wednesday, cruising past Tomas Martin Etcheverry 6-3, 6-2 and strengthening his hold on top spot in the rankings after his two closest rivals both lost at the Paris Masters.

Second seed Carlos Alcaraz tumbled out against qualifier Roman Safiullin late the previous evening and earlier on Wednesday, Daniil Medvedev, seeded third, threw another Paris tantrum as he lost 6-3, 6-7 (4/7), 7-6 (7/2) to Grigor Dimitrov.

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Djokovic, playing in his first individual tournament since winning the US Open in September, broke Etcheverry, an Argentine ranked 31 in the world, in the eighth game of the first set and twice in the second, to win in one hour and 24 minutes. "At the start of the match, I had a little trouble finding my rhythm, my tempo, but by the end of the second set, it was really good," said Djokovic, who has won at Bercy a record six times.

Meanwhile, Grigor Dimitrov eased into the quarter-finals on Thursday with a straightforward 6-2, 6-2 victory over Alexander Bublik of Kazakhstan.

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