World Number 1 Novak Djokovic fought back from losing the first set to beat Kevin Anderson 4-6 7-5 7-5 in a very close match claiming his fourth title at the Mubadala World Tennis Championships in Abu Dhabi.
The Serbian world number 1 player has equalled Rafael Nadal as the most successful player in the history of the Mubadala World Tennis Championships by beating Kevin Anderson in a re-match of the 2018 Wimbledon final.
Djokovic earned a break point in the fourth game of the opening set. Anderson earned the first break in the ninth game with a forehand winner to take a 5-4 lead and secured the first set with a good service game.
The second set went on serve in the first 11 games, before Djokovic earned two set points after Anderson made a double fault, when he was serving to stay in the set at 5-6.
Djokovic got the break on his first opportunity at 15 after Anderson netted a forehand.
Anderson earned the first break point in the third game of the decisive set, but Djokovic saved it with a forehand winner. The world number 1 player earned three match points in the 10th game, but he did not convert them. Two games later the Serbian star created two more chances and secured the win on his fifth match point with a cross-court forehand after a long rally.
Djokovic will be the top seed next week in his first ATP tournament of the season in Doha which starts on Monday. He will play against Damir Dzumhur in the first round match. Anderson will make his season debut in Pune (India).
“I am a bit tired. We were not expecting to play two hours and 30 minutes before the start of the season. I am really happy to have a match like this. Kevin is one of the best players in the world and he is in form. He was playing a very high level consistently throughout the match and I had to work hard for the win”, said Novak Djokovic during the post match interview.
Karen Khachanov wins the play-off match for third place
Karen Khachanov beat Dominic Thiem for the second time this week with a 6-3 4-6 10-3 to secure the third place at the Mubadala World Tennis Championships in Abu Dhabi. The World Number 11 player had beaten Thiem in Thursday’s quarter final match. In the semifinal the Russian player lost against Djokovic in Friday’s semifinal.
Thiem, who lost his first two matches against Khachanov and Hyeon Chung earlier this week, replaced four-time Mubadala World Tennis Championships Rafael Nadal, who withdrew from the tournament on Friday after his defeat against Kevin Anderson.
Thiem saved three break points in his opening service games, but dropped his serve at 3-3, when he netted his forehand. Khachanov earned his second break at love in the ninth game to close out the first set.
Thiem served better in the second set and fended off a break point at 3-4. The Austrian player converted his third break point point after seven deuces in the ninth game and held serve with a service winner in the 10th game setting up a match tie-break. Khachanov got three mini-breaks and won seven consecutive points to secure the tie-break 10-3 on the 13th point with a volley winner.
