Novak Djokovic produced a professional performance to beat Alexander Zverev 6-3 7-6(4) and set up a London showdown with Dominic Thiem.
Not at his best, the world number one dug deep to fend off a late surge from Alexander Zverev in the second set to reach the semi-finals at the Nitto ATP Finals.
The Serb made Zverev pay for a sloppy and casual start as he raced through the gears for a 3-0 lead in the opening set.
After the defeat to Medvedev, Djokovic knew it was important to send a message in this virtual Quarter-Final and that’s exactly what he did against an erratic Zverev.
There was a good mixture of pace and variety from Djokovic on serve as he dictated most of the rallies, redirecting most of Zverev’s power.
Towards the end of the second set, the German found his confidence and found deeper groundstrokes to cause the Serb a few problems.
However Djokovic managed to fend off two break points in the seventh game and in the ninth game sealed the opening set with a backhand down-the-line winner.
In the second set the 2018 champion came back with good rhythm and timing in his shots to capitalise on a flat Djokovic.
There was more clarity in Zverev’s play in the second set as he increased the power of his shots and moved into the net to shorten some of the points up.
Furthermore, the German was winning the longer rallies as well with Djokovic unable to create any special patterns of play in the second set to grab the initiative.
Despite having 30-30 or better on five of Djokovic’s six service games, Zverev was too cautious on the big points and erratic decision-making meant the creation of only one break point.
The Serb’s clutch serving meant the second set went to a tiebreak and quick anticipation from Djokovic secured some powerful backhands.
On the 11th point, Djokovic secured the win to extend his tiebreak win-loss record to 14-1 and seal his place in the last four.
Not playing his supreme best but he performed as well as he needed to against a timid Zverev.
Djokovic will now face Dominic Thiem in the semi-finals tomorrow in a repeat of last year’s epic contest which the Austrian won in a last set tiebreak.
