Novak Djokovic ran out of gas in the Paris Masters final earlier this month, but a week off and a return to the O2 Arena in London were just what the doctor ordered for the world No. 1.
Djokovic was back to his dominant self with a 6-4, 6-3 victory over John Isner during round-robin action at the Nitto ATP Finals on Monday night. The Serb solved the Isner serve and struck 21 winners compared to just six unforced errors while prevailing in hour and 13 minutes.
After putting pressure on the 6’10” American right from the start but missing break chances in each of his first two return games, Djokovic took control of the match with a backhand pass on break point at 2-2. London’s top seed had no trouble serving it out from there, as he lost a mere four service points in the entire opening set.
Isner held en route to 3-3 in the second, but additional breaks for Djokovic in the seventh and ninth games wrapped things up in swift style.
“I just prepared myself well for the match and executed everything really, really well,” the 14-time major champion commented.
“He is No. 1 and No. 2 and No. 3,” Isner said when asked to rank Djokovic among the best returners he has ever faced. “He’s the best returner I’ve ever faced, for sure…. From the first point of the whole match he connected pretty well on return. To be honest, I’m not surprised.
“Sometimes you got to hope he’s a bit off. Unfortunately, I don’t think that was the case tonight. I got my ass kicked; that was pretty comprehensive out there. I was the underdog tonight and got beat down pretty good.”
Day 2’s opening match between Alexander Zverev and Marin Cilic was a more competitive contest, even though it also ended in straight sets with Zverev getting the job done 7-6(5), 7-6(1). Cilic led by a break in each set, including 3-0 in the first before having multiple break points to go up by a double-break. The seventh-ranked Croat also served for the opener but double-faulted on break point at 5-3 and then ultimately dropped it in a tiebreaker.
Zverev also battled back from an early deficit to force another ‘breaker in the second–this one which he took while surrendering only one point.
“I think [the first set] could have gone both ways,” Cilic reflected. “Generally I felt that I was playing well, just I was not capitalizing on my chances. (In the) second set, as well, a break up and lost again my serve. So it was just a bit up-and-down through the match. And in these kind of matches, if you don’t take your chances that is unfortunately the way it goes.”
“The court is difficult,” Zverev noted. “The court is very fast and it’s very high-bouncing, as well. So everybody has to kind of find their rhythm in the first match. But at the end of the day, it was a pretty good match in the end. I’m happy to get the win; that’s the most important thing.”
The 21-year-old’s reward is a Tuesday showdown with Djokovic, while Cilic will go up against Isner.
[polldaddy poll=10162848]
[polldaddy poll=10162853]
Leave a Reply