Karen Khachanov recorded his first match win at the Rolex Paris Masters on Monday by beating Filip Krajinovic of Serbia 7-5, 6-2 for a place in the second round. Khachanov recovered from 3-5 down in the first set and saved one set point at 4-5, with Krajinovic serving at 40/30. The winner of two ATP World Tour titles this year at the Open 13 Provence (d. Pouille) and the VTB Kremlin Cup (d. Mannarino) will next play 12th-seeded Briton Kyle Edmund.

Bosnia and Herzegovina’s Damir Dzumhur, this year’s Turkish Airlines Antayla Open champion (d. Mannarino), notched the 100th match win of his career with a 6-4, 7-6(5) win over German qualifier Peter Gojowczyk. He now faces Greek No. 14 seed Stefanos Tsitsipas, who has qualified for next week’s Next Gen ATP Finals in Milan.

The rumblings started late last year, not long after Denis Shapovalov had upset Juan Martin del Potro and Rafael Nadal en route to the Coupe Rogers semi-finals and then reached the fourth round at the US Open. Could Shapovalov back up his breakout season in 2018, or would the 19-year-old suffer the dreaded second-year slump, as players and coaches break down his game with more film and more matches available to study?

The answer, resoundingly, has been the former. Shapovalov has not only repeated his breakout 2017; he’s improved upon it. By this time last year, the #NextGenATP Canadian was No. 51 in the ATP Rankings. But this year, Shapovalov is eyeing a Top 30 year-end finish as the regular ATP World Tour season heads into its final week.

The teenager is No. 29 in the ATP Rankings and a strong contender to again earn the ATP Star of Tomorrow presented by Emirates for the second consecutive year. The honour will go to the youngest player inside the Top 100 of the ATP Rankings on 5 November. Shapovalov received the award – and the Most Improved Player honour – during the 2017 Nitto ATP Finals in London.

The Past 10 ATP Star of Tomorrow Presented By Emirates Recipients

“This is incredible – first of all to be here and to win these awards,” Shapovalov said during the ceremony. “I definitely want to win an ATP World Tour title next year and finish in the Top 25, if everything goes well.”

The forthcoming Shapovalov is still searching for his first ATP World Tour title. He reached the semi-finals at the Delray Beach Open (l. to Tiafoe) and the Mutua Madrid Open (l. to A. Zverev), becoming the youngest semi-finalist in the history of the ATP World Tour Masters 1000 tournament, and at the Rakuten Japan Open Tennis Championships 2018 (l. to Medvedev). Shapovalov also made the quarter-finals at the Nature Valley International in Eastbourne (l. to M. Zverev) and at the St. Petersburg Open (l. to Klizan).

But, with a strong finish to 2018, the Canadian will check off his goal of ending the year inside the Top 25.

Read More: Nadal: Zverev, Shapovalov Are The Vanguard

“I think so far my season has been better than I expected. I’ve been playing unbelievably well throughout the season. I’ve really improved on clay courts. To be honest, my main goal this season was to improve my game… I feel like I’ve improved so much in my game, mentally,” Shapovalov said. “I just feel like I belong out there this year. I’m able to compete with anyone out there.”

Shapovalov has bulked up since last year, and he continues to benefit from a unique relationship with his mother, Tessa Shapovalova, who, along with Martin Laurendeau, coaches the teenager.

“She knows my game better than anybody, better than even I do. So that’s what I feel like makes her such a great coach and makes her work well with me,” Shapovalov said. “She does a really good job of being my mom off court and giving me my space and, you know, loving me. While on the court she’s tough and she keeps me disciplined and she’s my coach. She’s not my mom on court. And I feel like we’ve really found that balance together.”

Shapovalov is currently in third place in the ATP Race To Milan and recently secured his place at the Next Gen ATP Finals, to be held 6-10 November. The Canadian fell one match short of reaching the semi-finals during last year’s inaugural edition.

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“It’s a nice tournament to play at the end of the year… It was a lot of fun,” Shapovalov said. “Hopefully… I can do well in the next couple tournaments. Even if not, my main goal, as I’m 19, is to keep improving. Even if the results don’t come now, I’m trying to improve my game for years to come.”

Nobody on the ATP World Tour wants to lose the first set. But there’s a lesson in the numbers — whatever you do, don’t fall behind Novak Djokovic.

A slow start has proven especially harmful against Djokovic, as no player has been more dominant with a one-set lead than the Serbian. According to the FedEx ATP Performance Zone, Djokovic holds a 724-31 record after winning the opener, a win-rate of 95.9 per cent. Only 14 players in history have won at least 90 per cent of their matches after winning the first set.

That could be something to keep an eye on this week at the Rolex Paris Masters, where the 72-time tour-level champion Djokovic continues his pursuit to regain the No. 1 ATP Ranking. And the recent Cincinnati, US Open and Shanghai champion is in excellent form, arriving in Paris having won the past 24 matches in which he has won the first set.

Top 5 Players In History After Winning The First Set

In fact, the four-time Paris titlist has won the first set in 25 of his 35 clashes at the ATP World Tour Masters 1000 event. And of those 25 matches, he has triumphed 24 times. It doesn’t hurt that Djokovic arrives in France on an 18-match winning streak overall, either.

What’s perhaps most impressive is that, excluding wins over two qualifiers ranked outside of the Top 90, Djokovic owns a 22-1 record at the final Masters 1000 tournament of the year against opponents with an average ATP Ranking of No. 17. But that’s not all — Djokovic has always dominated with the lead against the best players in the sport.

Explore The FedEx ATP Performance Zone

The 31-year-old has won 89.8 per cent of his matches against Top 10 opponents after taking the opening set. That means that Djokovic’s win-rate in such a situation against the Top 10 is better than that of all but 15 players in history against the field.

Only one player has done better against the elite group, and that’s World No. 1 Rafael Nadal. The Spaniard has won 90.0 per cent (135-15) of his matches against the Top 10, and he is directly behind Djokovic in matches won after claiming the first set against the field. Nadal has captured 808 of 852, or 94.8 per cent.

Rounding out the Top 5 in the category are Bjorn Borg (94.1%, 563-35), Andy Murray (93.5%, 557-39) and Roger Federer (93.3%, 1,047-75). Of the Top 10 players in matches won after triumphing in the first set, only one — Juan Martin del Potro — has not reached No. 1 in the ATP Rankings. 

The ‘Big Four’ Against Top 10 Opponents After Winning The First Set

Djokovic has been doing that well this year, clinching 40 of the 42 matches in which he has come out on top in the opener. And he’ll try to continue getting ahead in Paris, where he seeks a record-tying 33rd Masters 1000 title.

Did You Know?
Djokovic can return to the top spot in the ATP Rankings by triumphing in Paris, regardless of Nadal’s result at the indoor hard-court event.

Novak Djokovic confirmed on Sunday what many tennis observers have been thinking the past few months: The Serbian is at his best level.

Djokovic, speaking ahead of the Rolex Paris Masters, said when he reunited with coach Marian Vajda and fitness coach Gebhard Gritsch in April, the group planned to have the Serbian back at peak level by the US Open. But in August, Djokovic had already returned to his best. He beat Roger Federer in the Cincinnati final to become the first player to win the Career Golden Masters.

Watch: Djokovic Stands Alone With Cincy Title

This week, at the season’s final ATP World Tour Masters 1000 tournament, Djokovic’s season could truly reach the top. Whoever advances further between No. 2 Djokovic and No. 1 Rafael Nadal will be No. 1 in the ATP Rankings on 5 November. If Djokovic and Nadal lose in the same round, the Spaniard will remain World No. 1.

Djokovic could also tie Nadal’s all-time Masters 1000 title record in France. Nadal has 33 Masters 1000 titles to Djokovic’s 32.

“We are very, very pleased with what was achieved in the last four, five months,” said Djokovic, who has won 18 consecutive matches, including his title run earlier this month at the Rolex Shanghai Masters. “With Rafa’s injury and him not playing China and so forth, it put me in a position to be very close to him in the [ATP Rankings] and to fight for a year-end No. 1. I’m aware of it, and I’m going to give my very best to try to achieve it.”

Watch: Djokovic Discusses Going For No. 1 In ATP Rankings

Nadal is the top seed in Paris and is playing for the first time since 7 September, when he retired from his US Open semi-final against Juan Martin del Potro because of tendonitis in his right knee. Djokovic went on to beat Del Potro in the final for his 14^th Grand Slam and second of the season (Wimbledon).

“In both the US Open and Shanghai, I’ve played as good as ever. So I really enjoy tennis at the moment and enjoy competing, because obviously when you’re winning that many matches you have a lot of confidence. When you have a lot of confidence, you approach the practice sessions and the tournaments and the matches in a just completely different way,” Djokovic said.

“As I said, it was quite opposite extremes in terms of how I felt and how I played five months ago and today. So I do think that I’m playing at my best at the moment and, I always feel like I can improve, but I feel like this is a very high level.”

The Serbian has won the Rolex Paris Masters four times, including back-to-back-to-back titles from 2013-2015 (also 2009). But Djokovic hasn’t won the title since 2015, as Brit Andy Murray and American Jack Sock won the 2016 and 2017 editions, respectively.

“I do have high expectations for myself anywhere I go,” Djokovic said. “So we put a lot of hours on the practice court and it paid off.”