ATP Finals: Novak Djokovic beats John Isner in group opener
Last updated on .From the section Tennis
| ATP Finals |
|---|
| Venue: O2 Arena, London Dates: 11-18 November |
| Coverage: Follow live coverage across BBC TV, radio, the BBC Sport website & mobile app. Live text commentary available on selected matches. |
World number one Novak Djokovic underlined why he is favourite to win the ATP Finals with a commanding win over John Isner in their group opener.
The Serb, 31, was in devastating form as he easily dealt with the big serves of American Isner in a 6-4 6-3 victory.
World number 10 Isner, making his debut at the season-ending tournament, was broken in the fifth game of the first set and seventh of the second.
Djokovic then sealed the win on Isner's serve with a crosscourt backhand.
Earlier in the day, Alexander Zverev beat Marin Cilic in straight sets in the other match in the Gustavo Kuerten group.
From favourite, to hot favourite
With world number three Roger Federer having slumped to a surprise defeat by Kei Nishikori in his opening group match on Sunday, the path for Djokovic to a sixth title at the tournament seems ever clearer.
He was already helped by the withdrawal through injury of world numbers two and four Rafael Nadal and Juan Martin del Potro and after this performance he is an even hotter favourite.
An encounter between the leading server on the Tour in Isner and the best returner was an intriguing prospect, but it was soon clear who would have the upper hand.
Isner is a player synonymous with tie-breaks - so impenetrable is his serve - but Djokovic already had him under pressure in the opening game with a break point.
Although he netted his shot to squander the chance, and then missed another in the third, he made no mistake in the fifth game when he broke with a beautiful baseline return from yet another thundering first serve from the American.
Djokovic's own serving was impeccable, winning six of his service games to love, to give Isner no chance of a breakthrough.
He sealed his first break in the second set when Isner netted a forehand in the seventh game and then set up three match points on Isner's next service game - eventually wrapping up victory on the third one with a fantastic backhand crosscourt winner after one hour 13 minutes.
"I had three breaks of serve of John which is sometimes 'mission impossible' but I managed to be at right place at the right time," said Djokovic.
"I held serve well, I backed it up from the baseline, I played very solid and didn't give him many opportunities."
| Group Gustavo Kuerten | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| W-L | Sets | Games | |
| Novak Djokovic | 1-0 | 2-0 | 12-7 |
| Alexander Zverev | 1-0 | 2-0 | 14-12 |
| Marin Cilic | 0-1 | 0-2 | 12-14 |
| John Isner | 0-1 | 0-2 | 7-12 |
How Djokovic out-served a server
Isner, who at 33 is the oldest debutant at the season-ending finals since Andres Gimeno in 1972, had qualified for the tournament as a result of Nadal and Del Potro's withdrawals.
He has enjoyed his most successful year - reaching his maiden Grand Slam semi-final at Wimbledon, winning his first Masters 1000 title at Miami and finishing the season ranked inside the world's top 10 for the first time.
And he was not overawed by his first appearance on this stage - still managing to deliver 13 aces and serves of more than 140mph, including some second serves reaching more than 125mph.
But the most telling number was the 66% of first-serve points won by a player whose average for the season is a huge 81%.
That is testament to the returning of Djokovic, who kept reading the serves and getting his racquet to whatever was thrown at him time and again.
And the Serb's own percentage of first-serve points won was 86%, which is more the kind of figure Isner is used to posting.
Analysis
GB Davis Cup captain Leon Smith on 5 live sports extra
Novak Djokovic is as good as ever. It is a privilege to watch that.
What he is doing against one of the best servers in the world, to neutralise him and turn defence into attack, dominating back of the court, it is phenomenal.
He is in a good place, physically and mentally, his timing of the ball is fantastic and he's oozing confidence.
Comments
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Less than 90 minutes singles play at £120 for a pair of tickets plus £25 to park your car and food is a fortune too at the 02.
The ATP is simply pricing this event too highly - it costs much more than Wimbledon on a games watched basis !!
Thats why Novak the world number 1 didn't play in front of a full 02 arena which is a shame.
I can see him surpassing Federer's grand slam tally. And I say that as a Federer and Nadal fan.
The "next gen" stars are pretty mediocre. Also, the less said about the age group between the next gen and the big 3, the better .
I couldn't help saying "wow" over and over again... One return that will stick in my mind forever: Isner fired off a gargantuan body serve, and Djokovic just lifted his racquet to a vertical position, the ball bounced off at incredible speed and it was a winner.
As a Brit I'll support Murray first but I hope Djoko overtakes smug-by Fed in teh total GS list.
I think he's actually best of all time. All his GS were won when the other Big 4 were playing.
It was getting a bit too 'interesting' was it? Don't want to let people know about the vast influence Federer has over court surfaces, scheduling etc?
Nice to see you are still spouting your wisdom about the Joker.
Yes, great to see the Joker punish untalented players, like he did in the ATP Finals 2016, and Wimbledon Final 2013, and the New York Open Final 2012, and the London Olympics Semi Final 2012.......... I could go on...........
..........Oh wait.............. :-)
Just a point on Djokovic - he still isn't particularly well liked, certainly not like Nadal and definitely not like Federer. He's fairly popular, but the Paris final was a case i've seen a lot of times - big cheer at the start, before everyone got behind his opponent regardless of score.
I think Djokovic has truly found his mojo again and is going be a serious threat next year with more Grand slams up for grabs.
You can't post on here if there s no HYS like there hasn't been on the ladies' for two months and the very few on the mens sidevare virtually all about the top three players in the world.
Held all 4 titles
Has winning head to head against Fed, Rafa, Murray,
Beat Nadal in the french open (Fed hasnt)
And don't forgot Andy Murray will be a huge threat if he gets back to anywhere near full fitness.
That is one of the strongest parts of his game. Defence becomes offence.