Novak Djokovic came back to beat Ugo Humbert 4-6 6-3 6-4 in Basel, his first appearance at the tournament since 2011. The match lasted two and a half hours and ended with a forehand winner down the line.
Djokovic, who is 11th in the race to Turin, is still fighting to qualify for the season-ending ATP Finals, where only the top eight players of the year compete. A place there would be a record 19th appearance for the 24-time men’s major champion. He called the result a “big win” over Frenchman Humbert.
“I was under attack from the very first point and had to weather the storm,” Djokovic said. “It’s my first indoor match, so I expected to be a little bit rusty in a tough draw. It is a big win for me, I know there are quite a few things I can do better but a win is a win, and I will take that today.”
Djokovic fights back
Djokovic lost the first set to the 38th-ranked Humbert. In the second set, he saved two break points to avoid falling further behind. He then broke Humbert’s serve for the first time in the following game, which started his comeback. The 39-year-old was solid for the rest of the match.
This was Djokovic’s 20th tour-level win of the year, extending a run of 21 consecutive seasons in which he has reached that total. It was also his first indoor event since winning the Athens title last November.
Djokovic beat his great rival Roger Federer to win the Basel title in 2009. He is now chasing Federer’s 103 titles for the second-most men’s tour-level titles in the Open era. He won his 102nd title in Beijing in October, ending a year-long wait for it.
Race to Turin
Djokovic entered the tournament 319 points behind Spain’s Rafael Jodar, who currently holds the final ATP Finals qualifying spot. Jodar also earned 50 points by winning his first-round match.
Other results
In China, Great Britain’s Harriet Dart reached the quarter-finals of the Guangzhou Open. The world number 115 beat second seed Janice Tjen of Indonesia 6-4 3-6 6-3 in two hours and 28 minutes. Dart will face former world number two Paula Badosa next. Badosa beat Austria’s Sinja Kraus 6-1 6-4 in 67 minutes.