Paris Masters PIX: In-form Djokovic inches closer to No. 1 ranking

TIL Desk Sports/ Novak Djokovic’s pursuit of the season-ending World No 1 spot continued with a 7-5, 6-1 victory over Portuguese qualifier Joao Sousa in the second round of the Paris Masters on Tuesday.

World No 2 Djokovic, who received a first-round bye, broke his opponent’s serve four times to extend his winning run to 19 matches.

The 31-year-old Serb has returned to his brutal best this season with Grand Slam wins at Wimbledon and the US Open, along with ATP Masters triumphs in Cincinnati and Shanghai.

For Djokovic to surpass top-ranked Rafael Nadal when the next edition of the ATP rankings are released on Monday, he must outlast the Spaniard in the French capital this week.

If both players lose in the same round, Nadal will retain the World No 1 ranking heading into the season-ending ATP Finals in London next month.