Novak Djokovic has already clinched a spot in the semis of the Nitto ATP Finals, but he will try to continue an undefeated trek through the tournament when he wraps up his round-robin campaign against Marin Cilic on Friday night.
Djokovic and Cilic have faced each other on 18 previous occasions, with Djokovic dominating the head-to-head series 16-2. Cilic, however, has to be encouraged by recent results. Ending slumps of 14 straight matches lost and 12 consecutive sets lost, the seventh-ranked Croat has won two of their last four encounters and even his two setbacks during this stretch have come in deciding sets. The two veterans just recently squared off in the quarterfinals of the Paris Masters, where Djokovic prevailed 4-6, 6-2, 6-3.
The world No. 1 eventually lost to Karen Khachanov in the Paris title match, but he never looked 100 percent during the week and had also endured a three-set thriller against Roger Federer one day earlier. Although Djokovic still appears to be dealing with some sort of cold in London, another loss–especially one to Cilic–would be surprising. Back in stellar form, the top-seeded Serb has improved to 33-2 in his last 35 matches with straight-set routs of John Isner and Alexander Zverev.
“It is,” Djokovic said when asked if he was being bothered by the same issue that ailed him in Paris. “Unfortunately today (against Zverev) hasn’t been great in terms of that. But somehow I managed to gather the strength when I needed it. I think also it seemed like Sascha was not feeling really great–definitely not playing well, especially from the back of the court. He made a lot of errors. I mean, (it) wasn’t a great quality tennis match, to be honest.”
Cilic dropped his opener at the O2 Arena 7-6(5), 7-6(1) to Zverev, but he kept his chances alive by overcoming Isner 6-7(2), 6-3, 6-4 on Wednesday night. The 2014 U.S. Open champion is still a mere 5-7 in his last 12 matches dating back to the U.S. Open quarters.
More than his health, Djokovic’s status of having already secured a semifinal berth may his primary hindrance on Friday. At the same time though, his relatively underwhelming performance against Zverev may work to his benefit in this one. The 31-year-old will surely be motivated to regain his form and carry momentum with him into Saturday.
Pick: Djokovic in 2
[polldaddy poll=10165094]
WWW?
Djokovic in three. He’ll not be motivated, Cilic will be and usually wins a set against him.