Second seed Novak Djokovic began his quest for a record fourth Rolex Shanghai Masters championship when he defeated Jeremy Chardy 6-3, 7-5 on Tuesday.
The Serbian star is now 12-0 in matches and 28-0 in sets against the Frenchman.
Novak broke twice in the first set and once in the second, having denied his rival a single break point opportunity during the one hour, 24-minute contest.
“I’m very grateful to play on a high level. I think that I’m very close to my best, you know, and my best changes day to day. I can always strive to be the best I can be on that given day. Today’s performance was pretty close to that,” said Djokovic.
Match statistics: aces (4-7), double faults (2-3), winners (17-25), unforced errors (13-28), total points won (66-52).
Novak goes on to meet no.16 seed Marco Cecchinato (ITA) in the ATP World Tour Masters 1000 event last 16 on Thursday. Cecchinato beat Hyeon Chung (KOR) 4-6, 7-6, 7-6 in the second round.
