Novak Djokovic is on the verge of claiming a historic seventh title at the ATP Finals after defeating Carlos Alcaraz in straight sets on Saturday evening.
The world No.1 muscled his way to a comprehensive 6-3, 6-2, triumph over Alcaraz to record his second consecutive victory over the Spaniard and his third overall. It is the 16th time this year that Djokovic has beaten a top-10 player which is more than anybody else on the ATP Tour. In his latest match, he hit a total of 15 winners and won 81% of his first service points. Djokovic also committed just eight unforced errors compared to Alcaraz’s costly tally of 22.
“It was the best match of the tournament for me without a doubt,” Djokovic told TennisTV.
“It came at the right time for me after spending a lot of hours on the court in the first three matches. I didn’t know how I was going to feel tonight.’
Heading into their fifth meeting and fourth of the season, Djokovic faced some stern resistance early on against Alcaraz after saving two break points in his opening service game. Despite the early scare, the world No.1 weathered the storm as he started to dismantle his opponent on the court. He first drew blood in the eighth game after an Alcaraz backhand into net net enabled him to break for a 5-3 lead. In control of proceedings, Djokovic closed out the opening set with a love service game which concluded with an ace out wide.
Alcaraz’s inconsistency started to frustrate him early in the second frame as he let out verbal outbursts after missing shots. His mood deteriorated further when a forehand shank enabled Djokovic to break for a set and a 2-1 lead. Prompting him to shake his head in disappointment.
From that point onwards, Djokovic had all the answers despite some impressive fighting spirit displayed by his younger rival. Best illustrated during a high-quality service game that saw him recover from a 15-40 deficit by winning five straight points to nudge ahead 4-2. He went on to secure his 49th career win at the season-ending event by converting his second match point after hitting a smash shot.
“I think from the very beginning I felt the ball well,” the 24-time Grand Slam champion said of his latest performance.
“I was approaching the net with the right attitude and mentality. I knew that from the first point, it was going to be high-intensity. He had break points in the first game but that’s Carlos, he brings out his best in these kinds of matches.”
Standing in the way of Djokovic becoming the most decorated player in ATP Finals history will be the in-form Jannik Sinner who he lost to in three sets earlier in the week. The Italian is currently on a 10-match winning streak.
“It’s a huge privilege to be here in the final,” Sinner said following his semi-final win over Daniil Medvedev.
“It’s going to be a tough match. I’m looking forward to it. Trying to give all that I have, 100%, and hopefully, it’s going to be a good matchup.’
“It doesn’t really matter the matches before, how they have been. Especially with this format, you can win against one, but after you can lose. It’s different.”
Despite his recent defeat, Djokovic does hold a winning 3-1 head-to-head record against Sinner and is prepared to once again take on the boisterous crowd in the final who will be cheering on their home player.
“He’s been playing fantastic tennis, arguably the best tennis of his life on this stage against top 10 players,” Djokovic said of Sinner.
“The other night (in their group match) the atmosphere was unbelievable and don’t expect anything less, probably even more (in the final).’
“It’s the finals, I’ve been in this situation many times before. I’m happy with the way I’m feeling and hopefully I can deliver my A game tomorrow.”
The two will face off against each other in the Turin final on Sunday evening which is scheduled to get underway at 17:00 GMT.
