Novak Djokovic endured a tough start to his title defence at the ATP Finals after surviving a three-hour battle against Holger Rune.
The six-time champion ousted the world no.10 7-6(4), 6-7(1),6-2, in what was a roller-coaster encounter in Turin. Djokovic, who has now dropped at least one set against Rune in all five of their meetings on the Tour, got broken three times in the match and hit 22 unforced errors. Despite the spirited performance from Rune, he managed to come out on top with the help of 36 winners.
“It took everything,” Djokovic said of his latest victory. “From the first game when he fired shots from the baseline I knew that it was going to be a tough night for me.’
“If I wanted to win this match I had to work really hard. He was feeling the ball well, he was sharp, very aggressive and served terrific.’
“I thought I played great. In some moments I dropped my level but overall a win is a win.”
Nine days on from their meeting at the Paris Masters, Djokovic was pushed to his limits throughout a tough 71-minute opening set. The world No.1 was the first to drop serve and fell behind 2-3 before breaking back right away in the following game. Meanwhile, Rune produced an array of impressive shot-making and never appeared to be fazed by the occasion as he continued to pile the pressure onto his opponent. The Dane is now under the guidance of Djokovic’s former coach Boris Becker.
With little disparity between the two, it was Djokovic’s experience that saw him seal the opening tiebreak. A four-point winning streak saw him move to a 4-2 lead which was enough of a margin for him to go and close it out on his first set point by firing a blistering forehand return winner.
The tussle continued into the second set with Djokovic once again having to fight his way back from a break down. Rune was one point away from a 3-0 lead before hitting a costly double fault. Then towards the business end, the 20-year-old had a set point opportunity whilst leading 5-4 but failed to convert due to a winning Djokovic serve out wide.
Rune’s relentless approach eventually paid off in the second tiebreaker as he surged to a 6-0 lead following a series of unforced errors coming from across the court before leveling the match with the help of another Djokovic mistake.
Djokovic’s journey to victory was as much of an emotional test as it was a physical one. The Serbian began the decider guns blazing by winning nine out of 10 points contested before dropping serve yet again, breaking two rackets out of anger and receiving a code violation. Nevertheless, he regrouped by winning five out of the next six games to seal the win in what was a far-from-perfect performance.
As a result of his latest victory, the 36-year-old has secured the year-end No.1 ranking for a record-extending eighth time in his career. Next week Djokovic will become the first man in history to spend a 400th week at the top of the ATP rankings.
“It was an emotional win because of its significance,” he said. “Knowing that if I won I was going to clinch the year-end No.1. That was added pressure and tension but after a terrible second set tiebreak I played a solid third set.’
“I was very eager to win tonight and get that monkey off my back. A big goal has been achieved and everything else now is a bonus.”
Djokovic is currently sitting in second place in the Green Group after Jannik Sinner who beat Stefanos Tsitsipas in straight sets earlier in the day. He has now won 47 matches played at the ATP Finals so far in his career.
