World No.1 Novak Djokovic withstood 13 aces from John Isner to prevail 6-4, 6-3, in his first match at this year’s ATP Finals in London.
Djokovic, who returned back to the world No.1 position on Monday, tamed the threat posed by his fast-serving opponent. Dropping only six points behind his serve throughout the match without facing a break point. Furthermore, Djokovic produced 22 winners to only six unforced errors.
“It’s great to be back at The O2 Arena, I love this place. It has been a lucky place for me over the years.” Said Djokovic.
“The match was great. I managed to get three breaks of serve against John, which is sometimes a mission impossible. But I managed to be at the right place at the right time.
“I held my serve really well and I thought I backed it up really nicely from the baseline. From the back of the court, I played solidly and didn’t give him too many opportunities.”
The Monday night clash at the O2 Arena was one of two worlds. World No.1 Djokovic is relishing in a stellar second half of the season, which has seen him win four titles. His record at the year-end finale is one that stands out in the Guga Kuerten Group. The quartet has a combined match wins of 34 in the event, of which 32 of them have been achieved by Djokovic. In contrast, Isner, who is the tallest player to have ever qualified for the event at 6”10’ was making his debut at the age of 32.
In what was a battle of the big servers, Djokovic stood firm throughout the encounter. Isner has hit more than 10,000 aces during his career, compared to Djokovic’s tally of just over 5200. Inevitably it would be the fine margins that separated the two on the court and this was the case during the first set. Five games into the match, Djokovic broke for 3-2 after hitting a passing shot that landed just inside the court. In pole position, Djokovic’s first set point chance came at 5-3. However, he was denied by a 139 mph Serve from the American. Nevertheless, he prevailed a game later with a love service game that concluded with an Isner error.
A similar pattern occurred in the following set, but this time it was in the seventh game. An Isner forehand went crashing into the net to hand Djokovic his second break of the match for a 6-4, 4-3, lead. From that moment, the win was all but certain for the 14-time grand slam champion. Two games later the Serbian sealed victory with the help of another perfectly timed passing shot.
“I missed playing this tournament last year because of my injury and I really enjoyed my time off, but at the same time missed playing at this arena.” Reflected Djokovic. “I think this is one of the biggest stages in the world of tennis and I am glad to be back.”
After the first round of matches, Djokovic tops his group. Winning 200 ranking points and $110,000 in prize money. Following his latest victory, the top seed has achieved 50 wins within a year for the 11th time within the past 12 seasons.
