Meanwhile, Grigor Dimitrov eased into the quarter-finals on Thursday with a straightforward 6-2, 6-2 victory over Alexander Bublik of Kazakhstan
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.
ADVERTISEMENT
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.
Also Read: Asiad medallist Poovamma returns to action post dope ban
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.
This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever
![](https://www.mid-day.com/assets/images/flight.png)