Novak Djokovic beats Ugo Humbert in Basel return

Novak Djokovic pulled off a hard-fought comeback victory over Ugo Humbert on his first appearance in Basel for 15 years, BBC Sport reported. The 39-year-old Serb won 4-6 6-3 6-4 after two and a half hours, blasting a forehand winner down the line to end the contest. It was Djokovic's 20th tour-level win of the year, marking the 21st consecutive season in which he has achieved that tally.

ATP Finals qualification race

The victory kept Djokovic in the hunt for a record 19th appearance at the ATP Finals in Turin, the season-ending event for which only the year's top eight performers qualify. Djokovic, ranked 11th in the race to Turin, entered the tournament 319 points behind Spain's Rafael Jodar, who currently occupies the final qualification spot and also gained 50 points after coming through his first-round match.

Match details and Basel history

After conceding the first set, Djokovic hung on against the 38th-ranked Humbert as he twice saved break points to escape an immediate setback in the second. The Serb, contesting his first indoor event since winning the Athens title last November, was solid from there, breaking Humbert's serve for the first time in the following game to kickstart his fightback.

Djokovic's reaction

I was under attack from the very first point and had to weather the storm, Djokovic said. It's my first indoor match, so I expected to be a little bit rusty in a tough draw. It is a big win for me, I know there are quite a few things I can do better but a win is a win, and I will take that today.

Related on Apex Sports News

• In pictures: Novak Djokovic in pictures: career and recent form

Sources

• BBC Sport

• atptour.com

• Photo: Skyscraper2010, CC BY-SA 4.0 (Wikimedia Commons)