The 2016 World Tour Finals will get underway on Sunday afternoon with a Group B round-robin showdown between Novak Djokovic and Dominic Thiem.
Djokovic is sweeping the head-to-head series 3-0, including 2-0 on hard courts. Although the 7-0 overall set score in favor of Djokovic suggests complete dominance, they at least waged one competitive battle in the fourth round of this year’s Miami Open. The Serb prevailed 6-3, 6-4, but Thiem generated 15 break-point opportunities (converted only one) in a match that lasted one hour and 50 minutes. They most recently faced each other in the semifinals of the French Open, with Djokovic cruising 6-2, 6-1, 6-4.
Thiem’s semifinal run at Roland Garros is a big reason why he is making his debut in the year-end championship. The ninth-ranked Austrian has also captured four ATP titles this season to go along with a quarterfinal performance at the Cincinnati Masters. For the most part, however, Thiem has been an energy-lacking disaster since the French Open. He is just 9-10 in his last 19 matches dating back to Wimbledon, and 47 of his 57 match victories in 2016 came prior to his arrival at the All-England Club.
Similarly, Djokovic has slumped since the French Open–which he won for the first time to complete the career Grand Slam. The current world No. 2 lost to Sam Querrey in the Wimbledon third round and it has been downhill ever since (aside from a title in Toronto). Djokovic, who has been struggling in both the physical and mental departments, is coming off a semifinal loss to Roberto Bautista Agut in Shanghai and a quarterfinal setback against Marin Cilic in Paris.
If anything can cure whatever has ailed Djokovic, however, it is the World Tour Finals. He has won this tournament on four consecutive occasions and is 23-6 lifetime at the O2 Arena (27-10 overall at the year-end championship). Thiem, on the other hand, has never found himself in this situation. Djokovic will likely handle the occasion far more impressively and thus get his week off to a solid start.
Pick: Djokovic in 2
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