Swiss Indoors: Novak Djokovic secures win in opening match against Ugo Humbert

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In the ongoing Swiss Indoors, Serbia’s Novak Djokovic has registered a win in the opening match. He defeated France’s Ugo Humbert by 4-6, 6-3, 6-4.

The legendary tennis athlete dropped the first set, but managed to bounce back in the remaining two sets on his first appearance in the tournament since 2011. With this, Djokovic has boosted his chances for his record 19th qualification for the season-ending ATP Finals.

Earlier, he won the China Open in Beijing this month, which is the 102nd title of his illustrious career. That was followed by an early exit at the Shanghai Masters, with the 24-time Grand Slam champion accepting a wild card into the Swiss event after slipping to 11th in the Race to Turin standings.

The 39-year-old athlete has clinched the ATP Finals title seven times, but he did not compete in either of the past two editions due to injury. Only the top eight players will qualify for the season-ending championship. Italy’s Jannik Sinner has already pulled out of the ATP Finals 2026, as he has been dealing with a knee problem.

Riding on his victory, Djokovic has advanced to the round of 16 and will lock horns with Germany‘s Jan-Lennard Struff on October 29.

Earlier, the Serbian superstar expressed his views on his country’s youth movement’s stunning election victory against Aleksandar Vucic during a press conference at the Swiss Indoors in Basel.

Vucic conceded defeat in an election that pitted him and his right-wing party against a diverse student-led opposition movement that spent two years protesting his government.

“I’m very happy about it. My deepest respect to the students and young people that have fought, they have shown dignity and incredible resilience the last two years with humongous pressure. I have a lot of admiration for what they have done and how they have conducted themselves. They’ve managed to create this sense of pride in all the people, not just in Serbia but abroad as well,” said Djokovic.

“The victory is secured and we all now have hopes that our country will be prosperous and that we’ll be enjoying the future that is coming,” he added.

(With Inputs from Agencies)

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