ATP Finals, Novak Djokovic makes it three for three
Novak Djokovic completes the task with Daniil Medvedev but not without struggle
It was supposed to be a seemingly uneventful match for Novak Djokovic, already qualified for the ATP Finals semifinals. Daniil Medvedev, already eliminated from the tournament, however, would have none of it and gave battle for more than three hours of play, yielding to the Serbian champion only in the decisive tie-break of the third set. 6-3 6-7 7-6 the final score in favor of Nole in the last round of the Red Group.
The first set was the quickest with the Serbian tennis player operating the surgical break at 4-3 in his favor, then closing 6-3. It was from the second fraction that the battle began, particularly in the final stages of the set: on 4-5 Djokovic was forced to cancel as many as three set points from his opponent but nothing could come to the tie-break, which the Russian made his own by 7 points to 5. In the last set the inertia seems in Medvedev’s favor with Nole a bit tired and resorting to serve and volley more than once to shorten the exchanges. At 4-4 the balance is broken after a river game in which Medvedev manages to get the break and goes to serve for the match. Here, however, the Russian melts down, as he did in his previous match with Tsitsipas: Djokovic does not let himself be told twice, puts the score back on even footing and goes to the tie-break, which he dominates by 7 points to 2.
Djokovic is thus the only tennis player in these ATP Finals to have won all three matches, for Medvedev, on the other hand, the incredible negative record of having lost all three matches in the third-set tie-break.
“Today is the hardest match I’ve played this year,” Djokovic said after the match, interviewed by Diego Nargiso, “physically I didn’t feel very good in the third set, it’s always a struggle but that’s sport. It also happens to a great champion like Medvedev who was serving for the match but I found the right strokes, I anticipated his serve well and I had a bit of luck in that game, finding myself in a tied position in the score with him and I was able to fight until the end. I am very happy because these wins are worth much more than just one match.”
“It’s not always easy to go to the net account of him because he anticipates very well, he reads the game very well. However in the third set it was really an amazing fight, I am proud of this performance. See you tomorrow!” concluded Djokovic.
