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21 Sport maltatoday, WEDNESDAY, 29 OCTOBER 2014 TENNIS FOOTBALL Download the MaltaToday App now Djokovic back in business Novak Djokovic returned to the ATP Tour with a 6-3 6-4 victory against Philipp Kohlschreiber in the second round of the Paris Masters PLAYING for the first time since the birth of his child, the world No 1 wrapped up a routine win in an hour and 24 minutes. Djokovic raced into a 5-1 lead in the first set before dropping serve for the only time in the match, but Kohlschreiber was not able to build on that f leeting moment of success and was well beaten in the end. "It feels great. It feels differ- ent, obviously," Djokovic told Sky Sports about playing as a father for the first time. "I try to take as much positive energy as possible from what has happened to me in the last few weeks. "I'm very proud to be a father and very proud of my wife for handling everything in a great way. This was my first match as a father and it can only inspire me to play my best tennis." Djokovic is defending the maxi- mum 1000 points in Paris and will hope for a strong run in the tour- nament to prevent Roger Federer from eating further into his lead at the top of the world rankings. "It's not the first time I've been in this particular situation," he added of the fight with Federer for the year-end No 1 spot. "I know what I need to do and I' ll try to keep things simple – just focus my attention on my own matches and win as much as I can on the court." In the first round, Valencia runner-up Tommy Robredo was this time on the winning end of a three-set battle, clinching a 6-3 4-6 7-6 (7-5) victory over Canada's Vasek Pospisil. Former world No 5 Robredo was evidently still feeling the effects of his epic defeat to Andy Murray on Sunday, where he was beaten in the longest final of the year. Pospisil rained down 13 aces against Robredo's one, and led 4-2 in the third set before painfully falling at the final hurdle. The popular 32-year-old, who wasted five match points against Murray at Valencia in a match that lasted 3 hours 20 minutes, seized a 6-3 advantage in the deci- sive third set tie-break and squan- dered two of them before Pospisil hit long to end the match. Robredo, who is now 17th in the ATP rankings, will meet Japanese sixth seed and US Open runner- up Kei Nishikori in a tast y second round date as his search for a 13th career title goes on. Also at Bercy Arena, French hopes were badly dented when Shanghai Masters finalist and 15th seed Gilles Simon crashed out in the second round to left- hander Fernando Verdasco. The world No 33 broke in the fi- nal game to outlast Simon, whose best result in Paris was a semi- final appearance in 2012, 6-3 3-6 6-4 in just under an hour to claim a morale-boosting victory. He will now play either former champion and last year's final- ist David Ferrer or the Spaniard 's second round opponent, Belgian talent David Goffin. Jeremy Chardy, who reached his second career semi-final at Valen- cia last week, edged compatriot and qualifier Kenny De Schepper 7-6 (7-5) 7-6 (7-4) to set up a clash with Federer in the second round. Novak Djokovic cruised to a win in his first match since becoming a father Pellegrini: Rooney not an issue Manchester City manager Manuel Pellegrini says rivals United will be dangerous on Sunday, with or without captain Wayne Rooney A report has claimed United cap- tain Rooney could be doubtful for Sunday's Barclays Premier League derby clash between the two sides after suffering a foot injury in training. It was claimed Rooney was seen limping at a sponsors' event at Old Trafford on Monday after being hurt in training. United have not commented on the report. Rooney had been poised to return to action in the Etihad Stadium en- counter after missing United's last three games through suspension. Louis van Gaal's side have been unbeaten throughout the 29- year-old's recent absence and the team are showing signs of turning around their underwhelming start to the campaign. Nevertheless it would still be a blow should the England skipper not feature, given his past record against City. Rooney is the record goalscorer in Manchester derbies having scored 11 in 22 games for United. But Pellegrini is dismissive of any suggestions that City could be lifted should he miss out. The Chilean, who oversaw 4-1 and 3-0 wins over United last sea- son, said: "I think Rooney is a very important player for Manchester United but I think that big teams never depend on one player. They have enough important, creative players to replace him." Pellegrini was speaking at a press conference to preview City's Capital One Cup fourth-round tie against Newcastle on Wednesday. Because of that fixture, he said the derby was not really in his thoughts yet. He said: "We are thinking just about Newcastle. When we fin- ish with Newcastle, we will start thinking about Manchester Unit- ed. "We have three games in a row here at home in three competitions so I think it is very important to be thinking just about the Capi- tal One Cup and after that we will start thinking about Manchester United." Meanwhile Pellegrini wants to see more of his players challenging to win the Ballon d'Or in future af- ter Yaya Toure was named on a 23- man shortlist to win the 2014 FIFA world player of the year award. The Chilean has already spoken this season about striker Sergio Aguero, who has scored 11 goals in 12 games this season, as a poten- tial Ballon d'Or winner, bracketing him with Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi. He said: "I don't know all the play- ers who are nominated but I always say we need more players who are nominated for those awards. "It is very important to try and continue improving in Europe. It cannot always be Real Madrid, Barcelona, Bayern (Munich). "I think it is the challenge for our players to be nominated. Not just Yaya, at least three or four more." Pellegrini has himself earned a nomination for FIFA's coach of the year award after an impressive first season in England. He said: "It is something that makes me happy but it is not some- thing I think too much about. "In my career maybe I put my sea- sons with different clubs, where it was difficult to achieve things, on top. But obviously I am very happy but it is not my principal concern." Wayne Rooney doubtful for Sunday's Manchester derby