Novak Djokovic was in imperious form as he swept aside Matteo Berrettini in the first match of this year’s ATP Finals at the 02 Arena on Sunday.
The Serbian needed just 64 minutes to overcome the nervous tournament-debutant 6-2, 6-1 in what was an ominous warning to the rest of the field.
Djokovic needs to reach next Sunday’s final to stand any chance of ending the season as the world number one and judging on this performance, you’d be brave to bet against just that.
The breakthrough came in the sixth game of the first set when two over-hit groundstrokes gave Djokovic the inevitable break. The rest of the first set was straightforward for the world number two as he capitalised on Berrettini’s desperation to force his way back into the set as he broke again to take the first set 6-2.
By the end of the first set, Berrettini racked up 17 unforced errors compared to just three by the ever-efficient world number two.
No Way Back
If Berrettini was going to upset the odds and turn the match around, he needed to make a fast start to the second set, but almost inevitably, Djokovic reasserted his dominance to prevent the world number 8 from gathering any momentum.
Having won the last four games of the first set, the 32-year-old stormed into a 4-0 lead in the second, taking his game winning streak to eight games in a row. The 23-year-old Italian resembled a rabbit in the headlights as a variety of crowd-pleasing winners, as well as a number of Berrettini unforced errors put the match beyond doubt.
Sensing a potential donut-set, the 02 crowd did their best to spur the Italian on. The crowd intervention had the desired impact as Berrettini was finally able to break the Djokovic serve to gain a glimmer of hope.
Eyes On The Prize
However, the break of serve only seemed to refocus Djokovic as he responded with his own break immediately after – secured with a vicious forehand rapturously appreciated by the 02 crowd, before closing out the second set on his own serve in the next game.
Speaking to the BBC immediately after the game, Djokovic spoke warmly of the 02 Arena:
“It feels great to be back in London.”
“Earlier this year I had a great stay in London and played well at Wimbledon.”
“Over the years I have played well in this arena and this event, which contests the elite eight players.”
“It has been in this city for the past 10 years. It has been a very successful tournament and I have enjoyed it very much.”
Djokovic will be back in action on Tuesday when he takes on 20-time Grand Slam champion Roger Federer.
“Novak Djokovic” Feature image by Carine06 is licensed under CC BY-SA
