BEVERLY HILLS, November 20, (THEWILL) – Serbian World No. 1 tennis player Novak Djokovic was a straight sets winner against Alexander Zverev as he booked his place in the last four of the ATP Tour Finals on Friday with a 6-3 7-6(4) victory.
Djokovic will now face the in-form Austrian Dominic Thiem in the next stage. Whoever wins that will meet either Rafael Nadal or Daniil Medvedev in Sunday’s final.
The 33-year-old is aiming to become the oldest winner of the tournament, a record currently held by Roger Federer. And 48 hours after a poor display against Medvedev on Wednesday, the Serbian was much sharper.
That largely self-inflicted defeat to Medvedev was only Djokovic’s fourth of the year. 24 unforced errors and five double-faults earmarked an uncharacteristic performance.
It was a different story against Zverev, who failed to break his opponent all match. Although, Zverev did have his moments, it was a different story as he failed to break Djokovic throughout.
Twice Zverev seemed about to break the Djokovic serve, but twice the famous defensive instincts of the world No. 1 held firm. That proved the contrast between the pair as Djokovic took one of his two opportunities on the Zverev serve to close out the first set.
The single key area that proved pivotal for the Serb and which he appeared to target was the Zverev second serve. He won four of six points just doing that.
Zverev, may have realised that and upped the ante on his serve. He rattled down nine aces, and his general approach became more aggressive as he attempted to hit a flatter ball.
Yet, Djokovic came ever closer to a breakthrough in the second set, twice creating break chances but unable to make them count. Both players looked increasingly comfortable on serve and so the match predictably headed for a second-set tiebreaker. Zverev quickly moved into a 2-0 lead. One particular backhand down-the-line winner suggested the match might be heading for a decider.
But the unflappability of Djokovic on which he built his entire career was on display in his ability to win the important points especially when it mattered the most. Zverev won 45 to Djoker’s 43 in the second set, but it was the Serbian who made the big points count.
At 2-3, the tiebreaker began to turn the way of Djokovic, as he twice delivered unreturnable serves. He rode that momentum with a delicious cross-court backhand winner for 5-3. One more big serve and it was match point, a chance Djokovic took with panache.
For the semis, Thiem, a man against whom Djokovic holds a 7-4 head-to-head advantage, awaits. Thiem has won two of the last three meetings, one of which came at the O2 last year.
About the Author
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
