Novak Djokovic continued to have a tough match against Holger Rune, however the world number one won to keep his hopes of successfully defending his ATP Finals title alive.
 |
| Novak Djokovic competes at the 2023 ATP Finals. (Source: Getty Images) |
Djokovic plays Rune in their first match of the Blue Group at the ATP Finals. Nine days ago, Djokovic defeated Rune in a tense three-set match at the Paris Masters and the Serb endured another tough match, still having to play three sets in three hours and six minutes to win.
After a cautious first few service games, Rune broke to take a 3-2 lead but Djokovic quickly demanded a break in the next game.
The two players managed their next service games well and pushed the first set into a tie-break. Djokovic lost two mini breaks, but Rune lost four of his six serves, allowing Djokovic to win 7-4.
The Danish player started well in set 2 when he broke to take a 2-0 lead, but once again Djokovic quickly erased his opponent's advantage when he demanded a break in game 3. In game 10, Djokovic successfully saved a set-point.
When the match continued to appear in the tie-break series, Rune played well by winning the absolute point when serving, Djokovic lost 3 mini breaks in 4 times of serving, thereby Rune won 7-1.
Rune did not start well in the deciding set, Djokovic led 2-0 but the Serbian did not play well in the third game, allowing his opponent to break early. It seemed that Djokovic had some health problems, however the Serbian came back strongly.
Rune made a mistake in the 6th game, allowing Djokovic to take a 4-2 lead. There was no chance for Rune to make amends as Djokovic dominated the next two service games, going straight to a 6-3 victory and ending the match.
With a win in his opening match at the ATP Finals, Djokovic is all set to finish the year as world number one. This will be the Serb's eighth year as the year's number one. Djokovic will also reach his 400th week as world number one when the ATP rankings are released on November 20.
With his 19th consecutive victory, Djokovic and Jannik Sinner share the top spot in the Green Group. In the first match of the 2023 ATP Finals, Sinner defeated Stefanos Tsitsipas 6-4, 6-4.
Source
Comment (0)