Djokovic Teams With Kecmanovic For Paris Doubles Victory

Novak Djokovic will begin his chase for a record-extending seventh title at the Rolex Paris Masters when he competes on Wednesday. Before focusing on singles, though, the Serbian took to court on Tuesday in doubles, teaming with countryman Miomir Kecmanovic to reach the second round.

Djokovic and Kecmanovic swept past Gonzalo Escobar and Aleksandr Nedovyesov 6-4, 6-2 in 68 minutes at the ATP Masters 100 event.

The Serbians won 67 per cent (12/18) of points on Escobar and Nedovyesov’s second serves, breaking four times to set a second-round meeting against third seeds Rohan Bopanna and Matthew Ebden.

Djokovic will face Tomas Martin Etcheverry in his opening singles match on Wednesday. The 36-year-old is aiming for another deep run in Paris to boost his ATP Year-End No. 1 presented by Pepperstone chances. The Serbian leads Carlos Alcaraz by 500 points in the Pepperstone ATP Live Race To Turin, which serves as a barometer for the year-end World No. 1 battle.

Nathaniel Lammons and Jackson Withrow kept alive their chances of qualifying for the Nitto ATP Finals for the first time with a 7-6(5), 5-7, 10-5 win over Marcelo Melo and Alexander Zverev.

The Americans have set a crucial second-round meeting with Argentines Maximo Gonzalez and Andres Molteni, who are one place above the 30-year-olds in seventh place in the Pepperstone ATP Live Doubles Teams Rankings.