Djokovic Beats Vacherot in Paris, Faces Hijikata Next
The Serb lost the first set, took a medical timeout for his shoulder and won after 149 minutes, 6-7, 7-5, 6-1, in his opening match at the Paris Masters. Hijikata is next.
Vacherot already had the first set in his pocket and a break at the start of the second when Novak Djokovic, trailing 1-2, stopped play, asked for a medical timeout because of pain in his right shoulder and left the court. When he came back, he broke serve straight away. That was the moment the first round of the Paris Masters turned, and the Serb finished the match with a score of 6-7 (5-7), 7-5, 6-1 after 149 minutes.
His opponent was Valentin Vacherot of Monaco, who had won the Basel title the week before and arrived in Paris as a champion. It was the second meeting between the two. Vacherot won the first, last year in Shanghai, in two sets, so this was the Serb’s first win in their head-to-head.
How did Djokovic turn the match around?
There was not a single break point in the first set until the 12th game. Leading 5-6 on Djokovic’s serve, Vacherot held three break and set points, two of them in a row, but Djokovic saved all of them and sent the set to a tiebreak.
The tiebreak swung back and forth. Vacherot led 2-0, Djokovic turned it around to 4-2 and 5-3, and then Vacherot won four points in a row to take it 7-5.
The second set started badly for the Serb, as Vacherot broke at once for 2-0. Djokovic pulled back to 2-1 and then called the medical timeout. After the break he got his first break point of the match, and Vacherot saved it with a 222 km/h ace. The Serb created another chance anyway and converted it for 2-2. A little later Vacherot also asked for medical help, because of pain in his left wrist.
At 5-4 Djokovic had a set point he did not use. He then saved three break points, the third after a 23-shot rally. He went ahead 6-5 and took his set point in the 12th game to level the match at one set apiece.
The third set was one-sided. After a game that lasted about ten minutes, Djokovic broke for 2-0 and then comfortably held for 3-0. Vacherot, visibly frustrated, hit his thighs and the advertising board with his racket. He won only one game, and the Serb closed out the match 6-1.
According to Tennis TV, this was Djokovic’s 51st win at the Paris Masters, which also made him the oldest man to win a match at the tournament. He has won it seven times.
What did Djokovic say after the match?
At the press conference he first dismissed the idea that the race for the season-ending finals in Turin is what brings him to Paris. Asked whether that was his main motivation, he answered briefly: “No.” When he was asked what drives him, then, he said:
“To win every match.”
On his opponent, he said:
“I knew it would be very tight. He has a lot of confidence and he is one of the best servers in tennis. His second serve is very aggressive, and in conditions like these, which are really fast, it is very hard to play against a player like that. Last year it was very slow, and this year it is like ice.”
He added that during the match he started reading Vacherot’s serve better and got into more rallies. On his next opponent, he said: “I have to watch video of his game, but I hope I will feel good physically.” He finished by praising the crowd: “The crowd was incredible today. I am very grateful for their support.”
What does Cobolli’s withdrawal mean for Turin?
News had arrived a day earlier from the other half of the draw. Flavio Cobolli, the world number six and the first player below the Turin cut-off line, pulled out of Paris before his first match. The week before, he had also withdrawn from Basel because of a muscle problem.
“I really hope I will recover. I tried to train but I could not, and I will not risk anything,” Cobolli said.
Going into Paris, the race stood like this:
- Cobolli 3,690 points
- Arthur Fils 3,535
- Frances Tiafoe 3,390
- Rafael Jodar 3,234
- Alex de Minaur 3,170
- Novak Djokovic 2,900
- Taylor Fritz 2,860
- Tommy Paul 2,735
Zverev, Alcaraz, Shelton and Medvedev have already secured their places. The title in Paris is worth 1,000 points, the final 650, the semifinal 400 and the quarterfinal 200. According to Sport Klub, Djokovic has to win the tournament to overtake Cobolli, and if the Italian does not recover, the Serb needs to pass one rival for Turin rather than two. B92 reports that a place in the semifinals would improve his chances considerably and that he will have to follow the results of Jodar and De Minaur.
The next step is the second round, where he faces Australian Rinky Hijikata, who knocked out Luciano Darderi, the world number 21, in two sets. The sources do not yet give a time for that match.
