Paris Masters 2018: Novak Djokovic Beats Joao Sousa, Continues Unbeaten Run

Novak Djokovic continued his remarkable unbeaten run on Tuesday at the Paris Masters, beating Joao Sousa in two sets. He has now won 19 straight matches, last losing in Canada.

Sousa put up an impressive fight in the first set but ultimately fell short just before a possible tiebreak, and the Djoker cruised to the finish line after that.

Elsewhere, Milos Raonic and Jo-Wilfried Tsonga fought out a thriller and Fernando Verdasco beat Jeremy Chardy.

Here are the key results from Tuesday's action:

(2) Novak Djokovic bt. (q) Joao Sousa: 7-5, 6-1

Milos Raonic bt. (wc) Jo-Wilfried Tsonga: 6-7 (4), 7-6 (5), 7-6 (5)

Damir Dzumhur bt. (14) Stefanos Tsitsipas: 6-3, 6-3

Karen Khachanov bt. (LL) Matthew Ebden: 6-2, 2-0

Fernando Verdasco bt. Jeremy Chardy: 6-4, 6-4

For the full results and draw visit the ATP's official website.

Djokovic entered Tuesday's contest in excellent form and wasted little time running out to a 4-1 lead in the opening set. His opponent used an extremely aggressive approach on his serve, failing to hit on less than half of them for a good chunk of the set in a desperate attempt to get the Serb off balance.

The tactic seemed to work for Sousa, who grew more confident as the set wore on and broke back to give himself a chance to tie things up. Per sportswriter Vivek Jacob, the Djoker's serve looked a little off:

The break was the first time anyone broke Djokovic's serve since the U.S. Open.

Sousa held firm despite the increasing pressure but finally came up short in the 12th game, as Djokovic avoided a tiebreak with some key shots. 

According to sportswriter Jose Morgado, it was the best Sousa has ever played against Djokovic, and it still wasn't enough:

Not surprisingly, the setback took the wind out of Sousa's sails completely, and Djokovic immediately grabbed a break in the second set. He pushed right through to the end, losing just one more game.

Elsewhere, Khachanov cruised into the next round after Ebden retired. The Russian was originally scheduled to play Kyle Edmund.

There was an upset in the match between Dzumhur and Tsitsipas, the last man to beat Djokovic:

The Greek broke through in a big way in 2018 but couldn't deal with Dzumhur's sheer dominance from the base line, as he bagged winner after winner. Tsitsipas was far from his best, leading to the swift exit.

Raonic and Tsonga put together a sublime contest that had fans on the edge of their seats, with three tiebreaks needed to split the two. The Czech dropped the opening set but bounced back with some expert serving to book his place in the next round.