Story highlights
Novak Djokovic will collect a $1.6m bonus check for finishing 2011 as world No.1
Djokovic defeated Croat Ivan Dodig to reach second round of the Paris Masters
Second seed Andy Murray through after win over Jeremy Chardy
16-time grand slam winner Roger Federer also victorious on Wednesday
World number one Novak Djokovic beat Croat Ivan Dodig 6-4 6-3 at the Paris Masters on Wednesday, a win which earned the Serb a check for $1.6 million.
A shoulder injury had cast doubt over Djokovic’s participation in the French tournament, with the 24-year-old having already pulled out of last month’s Shanghai Masters.
The top seed would have been entitled to a $2m bonus for ending the year at number one in the world rankings, but that figure is subject to the player having featured in all eight of the Masters 1000 events on the ATP Tour.
The bonus had already been reduced to $1.6m due to Djokovic’s absence in China, and would have been wiped out altogether had he failed to play in France.
But Djokovic was fit to take to the court at the indoor tournament, revealing his pleasure at being able to play in front of the Paris crowd.
“I think it’s one of the most entertaining indoor tournaments,” Djokovic told the ATP Tour’s official website. “People are coming in numbers here to watch matches. I like playing it.”
World No. 3 Andy Murray is also safely into the third round courtesy of a 6-2 6-4 defeat of home-crowd favorite Jeremy Chardy in the French capital.
The victory was second seed Murray’s 16th in-a-row, a run which stretches back to his U.S. Open semifinal defeat to Rafael Nadal and has seen him move above 16-time grand slam winner Roger Federer in the world rankings.
Murray converted three of his six break points to seal a fifth career win over world No. 110 Chardy and set up a last-16 clash with American Andy Roddick.
Federer continued his recent revival with a 6-2 6-3 win over French wildcard Adrian Mannarino. The Swiss clinched his fifth career triumph at the Swiss Indoors in Basel earlier this month, and was in fine form as he dispatched Mannarino in 56 minutes.
Fourth seed David Ferrer also earned a straight-sets success against French opposition, advancing beyond qualifier Nicolas Mahut 6-4 6-4.
The Spaniard, who is already assured of his place at the season-ending ATP World Tour Finals in London later this month, faced only two break points on his way to victory in one hour and 27 minutes.
Serb Janko Tipsarevic continued his bid to reach the World Tour Finals with a crushing 6-1 6-0 triumph over American Alex Bogomolov Jr.
World No. 13 Tipsarevic, who must reach the final to stand any chance of competing at the O2 Arena, now faces Tomas Berdych, the Czech who can seal his World Tour Finals berth with victory in the third round clash.
