Novak Djokovic claimed a ninth successive win over Stefanos Tsitsipas in his opening match at the ATP Finals in Turin.
The 35-year-old won 6-4 7-6(4) in an absorbing battle on Monday night in front of an electric crowd. Defeat for the Greek ends his hopes of ending the year as World Number One.
Djokovic was flawless in the first set, and broke Tsitsipas’ serve in the opening game of the match.
The Serb was fired up after Tsitsipas looked to orchestrate the crowd midway through the set. He served the set out for 6-4, facing zero break points en route.
Djokovic’s serving continued to impress in set two, as well as some tremendous passing shots which caught Tsitsipas off guard.
After 12 holds of serve in the set, Djokovic found his best level in the tie-break, and hit a wondrous backhand passing shot on his way to winning the match.
“The first game was very important to break his serve,” Djokovic said. “Starting with a break of serve is obviously a huge boost in confidence and a relief as well because we both knew it would be a tight match.”
He added ‘it was very important to start off well. I held my serve really well throughout the match. I played a great tie-break, very solid all the way through.’
Djokovic will face Andrey Rublev on Wednesday, after he overcame Daniil Medvedev in the afternoon session. The winner of that match is likely to progress through to the semi-finals.
Tsitsipas next plays Medvedev in a must-win match for both players.
