Novak Djokovic continued his season dominance as he battled past Thomaz Bellucci of Brazil 7-5 6-3 in his second-round opening match in Paris Bercy. The Serbian tennis star will play Gilles Simon in his next match in his bid to defend his title at the said ATP World Tour Masters 1000 event.

The World No. 1 has improved his win-loss record to an amazing 74-5 with his recent victory, ATP World Tour reports. He has now won 18 consecutive matches dating back to the U.S. Open in September (defeating Roger Federer 6-4 5-7 6-4 6-4) followed by his China Open win (defeating Rafael Nadal 6-2 6-2), and most recently at the Shanghai Rolex Masters (defeating Jo-Wilfried Tsonga 6- 6-4).

Djokovic, who is bidding to win his sixth ATP World Tour Masters 1000 title this season, admitted that he faced a tough match againt Bellucci. Djokovic managed to survive his first indoor match since winning his third Shanghai Rolex Masters, and he was reportedly pleased with his victory in Paris Bercy.

“It wasn’t easy to make a lot of winners,” Djokovic, who struck 13 winners in the first set, said. “He (Bellucci) was reaching out and covering the court well so it was a good test, first indoor match for me.”

Next up for Djokovic is Gilles Simon, who beat his fellow Frenchman Benoit Paire to set up clash with the 10-time grand slam champion in the third round. Simon dismissed Paire with a 6-4 4-6 6-1 win on home turf.

Djokovic leads their head-to-head series 6-1, with the Serb winning the last six matches against the 15th-ranked Frenchman. The upcoming match will be the fourth time that Djokovic and Simon will play in an ATP World Tour Masters 1000 event. They clashed in Cincinnati twice (2009 and 2014) and in Shanghai (2009). Djokovic had only dropped six sets against Simon in their previous encounters.

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