Novak Djokovic said he felt like he was "under attack" during his opening match at the Swiss Indoors, where he came from a set down to beat Ugo Humbert 4-6 6-3 6-4 in Basel.
The world No. 12 entered the ATP 500 event via a wildcard, making his first appearance in Basel since 2011. He faced a demanding first-round draw against former top-15 player Humbert and admitted the pressure was immediate.
Djokovic Overcomes Slow Start
"Super tight match, very intense from the very beginning. He was just striking the ball beautifully, being super aggressive, taking away a lot of the time for me," the fourth seed said after advancing to the last 16.
"I was under attack from the very first point to be honest, and I had to weather the storm, and it was tough, really tough, for a set and a half. But I managed to find my rhythm at the beginning of the second and save some break points, crucial at the beginning of the second set."
"After that, I started feeling a big more comfortable with his tempo. Overall, a huge challenge, and great burden and obstacle. I succeeded to manage to find the solutions in a tough match."
First Indoor Match of the Season
This was Djokovic's first indoor match of the season and his first indoors since lifting the trophy in Athens last November. The 24-time Major winner hoped the conditions would be easier than playing outdoors in heat and humidity, but he still had to adjust.
The 39-year-old added: "It's my first indoor match, so I kind of expected it to be a little bit rusty, and a tough draw for the first round. I played Humbert only once, years ago."
"As I said, tough player, really quick conditions, so hard to break the serve, and once you do, you're kind of under pressure with a player like him, he serves so well, he was super aggressive. It's a big win for me. I know there's quite a few things I can do better, but a win is a win, and I'll take that today."
Next Up: Jan-Lennard Struff
Djokovic will now face in-form Jan-Lennard Struff for a place in the quarter-finals. A former world No. 21, the German reached last week's Brussels final and stunned Arthur Fils en route, winning five of his last six matches.
The Serb holds an unbeaten 8-0 record against Struff, with their last meeting coming at the 2025 US Open. Djokovic has only lost one set to the 36-year-old in his career, at the 2020 Australian Open.
