Wednesday at the ATP Finals will see top seed Novak Djokovic aim to continue his almost perfect second half of the 2018. Since Wimbledon, he had only suffered two losses on the tour as he claimed three further titles. His next test will be against Germany’s Alexander Zverev, who is the only member of the next generation to qualify for the tournament for the second year in a row.
Elsewhere, Marin Cilic will be seeking only his second ever win at the ATP Finals when he takes on John Isner. The upcoming match will be an opportunity for the Croat to get revenge following his loss to Isner at the Miami Masters earlier this year.
Novak Djokovic vs. Sascha Zverev
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This will be their third head-to-head meeting, having split the first two. Zverev defeated Djokovic in the Rome final last year to win his first Masters 1,000 title. 18 months ago, Djokovic is back to playing his best tennis, as evidenced by his 6-2, 6-1 victory over Zverev last month in the Shanghai semifinals. Judging by Monday’s action, there’s no reason to believe the result today will be much different. Djokovic easily disposed of John Isner, breaking the big server three times with the best returning game in the world. While Zverev prevailed on Monday, the win eas as much about Sascha’s play as it was about Marin Cilic giving away a big lead in the first set. And while Novak’s form has continued to climb back to the peak of his abilities as the year has progressed, Sascha has struggled through the second half of this season. Djokovic should obtain another comfortable win here to secure his place atop the Guga Kuerten Group.
Marin Cilic vs. John Isner
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Cilic owns a 7-3 record over Isner, with their most notable match coming at Wimbledon in 2015. That was another in a long line of Isner marathons at SW19, which Cilic survived 12-10 in the fifth. Isner though has won three of their last four encounters, including the last two times they’ve played on hard courts. John prevailed in straights sets two years ago at the Paris Masters, as well as earlier this year at the Miami Masters. While Isner doesn’t have a win over a top 10 opponent since Miami, Cilic’s recent losses are more concerning. The below tweet from Ravi Ubha (@raviubha) perfectly highlights this:
Cilic’s last 10 losses:
Up 2-0 in sets on Pella (Wimb)
Led Rafa by set
Lost in 3 to Novak
Led Kei by set & 4-2 (USO)
Led Querrey by set & 4-2 (DC)
Led Struff 4-2 in 3rd
Had MP, led Jarry 5-3 in 3rd
Had 2 set points v Copil
Led Novak by break in 3rd
Led Zverev 5-3 in 1st— Ravi Ubha (@raviubha) November 12, 2018
Just as concerning is Marin’s 1-9 record at the ATP Finals, his only win coming in 2016 when he still finished last in his round robin group. He’s surely overdue for a win at the O2, but he cannot be playing with much confidence right now. I like Isner’s chances to get his third consecutive hard court victory over Cilic in Wednesday.
