FREE for news on the biggest players and tournaments SUBSCRIBE Invalid email Sign up forfor news on the biggest players and tournaments When you subscribe we will use the information you provide to send you these newsletters. Sometimes they'll include recommendations for other related newsletters or services we offer. Our Privacy Notice explains more about how we use your data, and your rights. You can unsubscribe at any time. Rafael Nadal and Djokovic are battling out for the year-end world No 1 ranking in the final two tournaments of the season. Djokovic has to better his Spanish rival’s results this week to rise to the top of the standings ahead of the ATP Tour Finals. And the Serbian booked his place in the third round at Paris-Bercy with a 7-5, 6-1 win against Sousa. However, Djokovic then confirmed he is looking forward to having Wednesday to rest as he is feeling under the weather. “Very helpful [to have a day off], I’m looking forward to it,” Djokovic said. "In the important moments, I managed to get the right shots in play. “I’m not 100 per cent pleased with my game, I missed a lot of shots from the back of the court. "But at the end of the day, it's the first match, so it takes a bit of time to adjust." Novak Djokovic is suffering with an illness The Serbian is through to the Paris Masters third round Meanwhile, Nadal takes on fellow countryman Fernando Verdasco this afternoon. But the world No 1 claims his primary objective is not to hold his ranking. “No, I get injured and I get injured in an important part of the season twice,” Nadal said. “At the beginning of the season, missing two Masters 1000s, a 500, the Australian Open and then I get injured at the US Open and I miss again Beijing, Shanghai. So too many tournaments lost. Rafael Nadal makes his return from injury against Fernando Verdasco this afternoon<doc-sep>Novak Djokovic: A fan is checked by medical staff at the Paris Masters When you subscribe we will use the information you provide to send you these newsletters. Sometimes they'll include recommendations for other related newsletters or services we offer. Our Privacy Notice explains more about how we use your data, and your rights. You can unsubscribe at any time. Sign up forfor news on the biggest players and tournaments Djokovic was well on course to win in two sets in the Paris Masters second-round match when play was stopped. The Serb was 5-1 up in the second set when the chair umpire jumped off his seat to check something in the crowd. He was heard saying: "We cannot carry on playing." It appeared as though a fan directly behind the service line had fainted.<doc-sep>Rafael Nadal withdraws from Paris Masters with Novak Djokovic returning to world No 1 on Monday Rafael Nadal remains without the Paris Masters title after his withdrawal Rafael Nadal has pulled out of the Paris Masters with an abdominal injury, meaning Novak Djokovic is guaranteed a return to world No 1 on Monday. The Spaniard was due to play his first match since his US Open semi-final retirement against Juan Martin del Potro but withdrew shortly before his second-round meeting with Fernando Verdasco. Nadal arrived at the final regular tournament of the season targeting his 34th Masters 1000 title and needed to match Djokovic's performance to remain at the summit of the men's rankings. Novak Djokovic will become the new world No 1 on Monday Djokovic, who defeated Joao Sousa on Tuesday, will become the first player to go from being ranked outside the world's top 20 to No 1 in the same season since Marat Safin in 2000. It is unclear whether Nadal will be able to feature at the season-ending ATP Finals in London, live on Sky Sports, next month. "My abdominal muscles haven't felt good for the past few days, especially on service, doctors recommended that I didn't play," Nadal said. 2016 #RolexParisMasters - @DjokerNole's 122-week reign as No. 1 ends. 2018 @RolexPMasters - Djokovic returns to No. 1 for 1st time in 2 years. — ATP Media Info (@ATPMediaInfo) October 31, 2018 The 32-year-old was forced to retire injured against Marin Cilic in the Australian Open quarter-finals and has missed events in Beijing and Shanghai since his retirement at Flushing Meadows in September. "It's been a difficult year for me in terms of injuries, and so I'd prefer to avoid doing anything drastic," he added. "It wouldn't have been good for me nor anyone to return to the court knowing that I wouldn't be able to play my best." Lucky loser Malek Jaziri took full advantage of Nadal's withdrawal as the world No 55 from Tunisia defeated Verdasco 7-6 (7-5) 1-6 6-3 in two hours and twenty six minutes. Milos Raonic also withdrew from the tournament, citing a right elbow injury, which handed Roger Federer a walkover to the last 16. The 20-time Grand Slam champion, playing in the event for the first time since 2015, will now meet Fabio Fognini on Thursday, after the Italian 13th seed also benefited from a withdrawal by Marton Fucsovics. Defending champion Jack Sock defeated France's Richard Gasquet 6-3 6-3 to record only his eighth victory of the season and will next meet the winner between Verdasco and Jaziri. Jack Sock started the year as world No 8 but is now ranked 23 Fourth seed Alexander Zverev reached the last 16 with a 6-4 6-4 win against Frances Tiafoe, which featured six breaks of serve. John Isner - one of four players in contention for the two remaining singles spots in the season finale at the O2 - hit 33 aces in a three-set encounter against Mikhail Kukushkin. Four players battling over two remaining ATP Finals spots Marin Cilic (3,960 points) Dominic Thiem (3,535) Kei Nishikori (3,210) John Isner (3,065) The American wasted four break points in the second set as he was pushed the distance by his world No 54 opponent before he dominated a final set tiebreak to progress 6-3 6-7 (2-7) 7-6 (7-1). Kevin Anderson, who won the Erste Bank Open last week, continued his strong end-of-season form with a 6-3 6-7 (3-7) 7-6 (7-3) win against Nikoloz Basilashvili. The seventh seed saved all three break points he faced in the match and will next face Kei Nishikori in a repeat of their Vienna final after the Japanese player opened the day's schedule with a 7-5 6-4 success against France's Adrian Mannarino. Nishikori needs to reach the Paris semi-finals to make his fourth appearance in the eight-man field at the ATP Finals. Grigor Dimitrov, who has Andre Agassi working with him this week, also progressed to the last 16 with a hard fought 7-6 (12-10) 6-4 victory against Roberto Bautista Agut. "He [Agassi] is amazing. I couldn't think of a better guy, sharing thoughts, feelings, emotions, on and off the court," said Dimitrov, who is coached full-time by Dani Vallverdu. Grigor Dimitrov hopes to work with Andre Agassi next season "I just believe that he has gone through so much overall with the ups and downs and all that. He's one of the only people that I feel I can really relate to and open up to." He added: "Hopefully I can travel with Andre a bit more next year, and for sure we're going to try to spend a lot more time together in the upcoming weekends and months. "Hopefully in the next couple of months we'll know more about how we're going to do our schedule." We have every major tennis event covered from all angles via our website skysports.com/tennis. On the move? Head to our app for mobile devices and iPad, or follow our Twitter account @SkySportsTennis to join in the conversation. We will have coverage of the ATP Finals at London's O2 in November with every match live on Sky Sports.<doc-sep>
PARIS -- Novak Djokovic began his bid for a record-extending fifth Paris Masters title with a 7-5, 6-1 win against Joao Sousa in the second round on Tuesday -- and lent a helping hand to a spectator in the process. Serving for the match at 5-1, Djokovic handed a towel to a man in the crowd who seemed unwell and who wiped his forehead with it. "It seemed he was sweating and he seemed dizzy, so he just needed help," Djokovic said. "I just gave him the towel." Djokovic revealed he also was not feeling very well out on court. "I wasn't," he said. "I don't want to get into details, but I think it's a minor thing." The second-ranked Serb set up match point with an ace and sealed a victory on his third match point when Sousa returned a second serve long. The US Open champion has won four of the past five tournaments he has entered, including Wimbledon, the US Open and most recently the Shanghai Masters. Djokovic is seeking to reclaim the top ranking from Rafael Nadal at a tournament the Spaniard has never won. Djokovic next faces Damir Dzumhur. Fifth-seeded Marin Cilic, the Australian Open runner-up, won his second-round match 6-3, 6-4 against Philipp Kohlschreiber of Germany. Dzumhur upset 14th-seeded Stefanos Tsitsipas 6-3, 6-3, while big-hitting Russian Karen Khachanov also advanced to the third round. Khachanov led 6-2, 2-0 against Matthew Ebden when the Australian retired. Returning from a right knee injury, Nadal faces Spanish countryman Fernando Verdasco on Wednesday, with 20-time Grand Slam champion Roger Federer also in second-round action against Milos Raonic. Federer leads the big-serving Canadian 11-3 overall. Federer's last appearance at the Paris indoor event was a third-round loss to big-serving John Isner in 2015. There were doubts Federer would play after a grueling past week that saw him clinch his ninth victory at the Swiss Indoors and 99th overall. "I feel good," Federer told a news conference. "I feel like I recovered well from last week." The 37-year-old Federer is selective of when he plays in order to keep his body as fresh as possible, and he skipped the entire clay-court season for the second straight year. With the season-ending ATP Finals in London starting Nov. 11, he is playing three straight tournaments. But the third-ranked Federer feels comfortable with it. "I feel like it's better for me to play matches rather than practice," Federer said. "As long as I don't feel like I'm taking a chance on my health prior to London, that's the key, as well." Federer showed fighting qualities last week in Basel, where he was twice taken to three sets and went an early break down in three of his past four matches. "I was a bit bumpy. But I was happy how I was fighting, how I was trying to figure it out in a different manner," he said. "Last week was special to win the way I did it, in a different manner." Federer moved within 10 titles of Jimmy Connors all-time singles record. He is cautious about his chances of success in Paris, where his only tournament victory came in 2011. The Australian Open champion is drawn in the same half as Djokovic, Cilic and big-serving Kevin Anderson, who upset Federer in the Wimbledon quarterfinals this year. "I rarely play two or three tournaments in a row now. So starting on Wednesday and winning five matches in a row with this caliber [of players] is very difficult," Federer said. "If I get close to the last four, that would also be great." In first-round play Tuesday, there were wins for Mikhail Kukushkin, Gilles Simon, Daniil Medvedev, Marton Fucsovics, Raonic and Verdasco.