Djokovic reaches third round in Paris

Second-seed Serbian Novak Djokovic defeats Argentine Juan Monaco for the fourth straight time.

PARIS: Second-seed Serbian Novak Djokovic defeated Argentine Juan Monaco for the fourth straight time when he saved seven of eight break points for a 6-4, 6-3 win in 84 minutes to cruise into the third round at the BNP Paris Masters.

Djokovic, who defeated Monaco en route to the Paris Masters title last year, hit eight aces and won 66 per cent of service points.

Fernando Verdasco and Tomas Berdych also progressed in the tournament to keep their hopes of qualifying for the season-ending ATP finals alive. Spain’s Verdasco struggled to keep up with 32-year-old Arnaud Clement before rallying to win the last 10 games and seal a 3-6, 6-3, 6-0 victory.

“I’m really not thinking about London right now as there are still two matches [to negotiate] and each could be very difficult,” said Verdasco after winning.

Fifth-seed Thomas Berdych made sure he remained in the competition after dispatching French wildcard Florent Serra 6-3, 6-1 in just 47 minutes.

Published in The Express Tribune, November 11^th, 2010.