More lives than a cat

Andrés Tomás Rico - 3 Nov 2026 | 17:37
ATP Novak Djokovic Valentin Vacherot ATP Rolex Paris Masters 2026

Djokovic navigated the abyss to triumph over Vacherot in a closely contested match in his debut at the Paris Masters 1000, setting up a meeting with Hijikata to keep his aspirations for the ATP Finals alive.

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More Lives Than a Cat. Photo: ATP TOUR

Novak Djokovic once again demonstrated that he has more lives than a cat. The Serbian overcame a very difficult challenge in his debut at the Masters 1000 in Paris against a Valentin Vacherot who was on a winning streak. The 24-time Grand Slam champion suffered and was close to hitting the canvas, but once again he rose from the ashes to come back with a score of 6-7(5), 7-5, 6-1, setting up a meeting with Rinky Hijikata in the round of 16 and holding onto his chances for the ATP Finals.

It was not the best debut for Djokovic after his second-round defeat at the ATP 500 in Basel against Jan-Lennard Struff. Starting a new tournament after such an early loss the week before is never easy, but the issue was who was on the other side of the net. Vacherot arrived in Paris just two days after lifting the title in Switzerland, with confidence soaring and with a game perfectly suited to the hard indoor court conditions in Europe.

This is how Djokovic achieved his victory in the tightly contested match against Vacherot in Paris

This could be Djokovic's last match in 2026, as a loss would leave him with no chance of entering the ATP Finals. Therefore, the Serbian came out very focused, but above all very confident with his serve, knowing the difficulties of breaking the serve of an inspired Vacherot.

And the trend of the first set was just that: serves, serves, and more serves. Neither player had a single break point, and the set inevitably went to a tiebreak. However, Vacherot issued the first serious warning and, with a 6-5 lead and the tiebreak secured, he attempted to break the Serbian's serve. He came very close, as he had three set points, but the player from Belgrade saw it coming, thwarted the attempt, and sent the set to its conclusion.

In fact, saving those break points gave him momentum at the start of the tiebreak, and he even led 5-3. However, it was precisely at those moments where Djokovic usually does not miss that he faltered, and a simple volley to have two set points hit the net. And there, with his serve, Vacherot did not forgive and took the first set by 7-6(5).

That strange ending took a toll on Djokovic, who dropped his serve in the first game of the second set and his end of the season was a little closer if he couldn’t react. To make matters worse, his physical condition seemed to be hindering him, and he called for the physio due to discomfort in his right shoulder.

However, that visit from the physio revitalized him, and he quickly regained the break to prevent the Monegasque from pulling away too much on the scoreboard. Additionally, it also revealed Vacherot's physical problems, who requested medical time to address some blisters on his feet. Everything came to a halt with these two interruptions, but the equality was at its peak.

The fact that both were somewhat physically diminished caused the speed of their shots to decrease, leading to the first long exchanges in the match. And it was at that moment when the break points started to appear. First, Djokovic had a break point at 4-3 that was half a set, but a good serve from the Monegasque prevented it. But then it would be Vacherot who had a golden opportunity to close the match with three break points that he could not convert due to a Belgrade wolf that has more lives than a cat.

The scoreboard showed a 5-5 that was quite different from the first set. Here the equality in all games forced both to be very precise, and Djokovic, who wanted to avoid another tiebreak at all costs, went all out on the return to secure a second set (7-5), which he was very close to losing.

Losing such a tightly contested second set was the straw that broke the camel's back for Vacherot, both mentally and physically. After the grind of the previous week in Basel and the wasted opportunities in the second set, his game faded at the start of the third set and never lit up again.

Thus, Novak Djokovic secured a soothing victory (6-7(5), 7-5, 6-1) in a match that had many chances of being lost. The Serbian remains alive in Paris and, above all, in his aspirations for the ATP Finals. He did not show his best version, but he made one thing clear: he will give his all to achieve it.

 

This is an automatic translation. You can read the original news, Más vidas que un gato