Top seed Novak Djokovic got off to a flying start in his Nitto ATP Finals campaign, dismissing eighth seed Diego Schwartzman 6-3, 6-2 at the O2 Arena in London.
A day after receiving his record-tying sixth trophy for ending the year as world number one, the Serb took command of the match from 3-3, winning nine of the final 11 games.
Djokovic opens with solid showing to defeat debutante Schwartzman
After a pair of opening holds, Djokovic found himself down 0-30 after a double fault and 15-40 following a forehand error and after saving the first break chance, Schwartzman found a forehand down the line for a winner to take the early lead.
The world number one broke right back and in the eighth game, a wonderful inside-in forehand concluding a rally that showed off both players full arsenal gave Djokovic a 5-3 advantage and he served out the set to go in front.
The Serb continued his fine play into the second set, setting up a break point with another excellent forehand and claiming the early edge when followed in a drop shot-lob combination with a game-ending overhead.
After extending the run to five consecutive games, Schwartzman finally ended the streak with a hold, but he was broken for a fourth time after overhitting a forehand to put Djokovic ahead 4-1. He'd close the match out three games later to cap off a fine performance.