PARIS — Novak Djokovic battled from behind to beat Valentin Vacherot, 6-7 (5), 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. “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. Victory also kept alive Djokovic’s chances of landing a spot in the season-ending ATP Finals later in November. Djokovic is currently 11th in the race to the eight-man tournament in Turin. However, he insisted his main focus was not the ATP Finals but “to win every match” on his...
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