Basel, 29 October (H.S.): Serbian tennis star Novak Djokovic strengthened his hopes of qualifying for the ATP Finals with a three-set victory over France’s Ugo Humbert in his opening match at the Basel Open on Wednesday.

The 39-year-old recovered after losing the first set to secure a 4-6, 6-3, 6-4 victory. He is competing in Basel for the first time since 2011.

Speaking after the match, Djokovic described the contest as closely fought and challenging from the outset.

“It was an extremely close match and very challenging right from the beginning. I was under pressure from the very first point. I had to deal with his aggressive game, but I managed to find my rhythm at the start of the second set,” he said.

He added that he gradually became more comfortable adapting to the pace of Humbert’s game.

“After that, I found it a little easier to adjust to the pace of his game. Overall, it was a major challenge. I managed to find solutions in what was a difficult match today,” Djokovic said.

Djokovic strengthened his bid to qualify for the ATP Finals earlier this month by winning the China Open in Beijing. The title was the 102nd of his career and improved his prospects of making a record 19th appearance at the season-ending tournament.

However, his campaign subsequently suffered a setback when he was eliminated in the early rounds of the Shanghai Masters. Having slipped to 11th in the qualification race for the ATP Finals in Turin, the 24-time Grand Slam champion entered the Swiss tournament on a wild card.

Djokovic has won the ATP Finals seven times but missed the last two editions because of injury. The tournament, scheduled to take place from November 15 to 22 in Turin, will feature the world’s top eight players of the season.

Italy’s Jannik Sinner, however, has already withdrawn from the event because of a knee problem.

Fourth seed in Basel, Djokovic will next face Germany’s Jan-Lennard Struff. The Serbian holds a dominant 8-0 win-loss record against Struff.

The names and match details have been checked against Djokovic’s official website and reports from Reuters and The Straits Times. The match took place on Wednesday, October 28, and Djokovic won 4-6, 6-3, 6-4. One clarification: only the top eight players qualify directly for the ATP Finals, so the victory strengthened his chances but did not guarantee qualification.

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Hindusthan Samachar / Jun Sarkar