Djokovic out-battles Zverev to join Nadal in ATP Finals semis
Novak Djokovic, who beat Alexander Zverev to finish second in his Group, will play third-seed Dominic Thiem in the semis. Rafael Nadal beat defending champion Stefanos Tsitsipas to set up a last four clash with Daniil Medvedev
Tournament top seed Novak Djokovic overcame Alexander Zverev to qualify for the last four at the ATP Finals on Friday and stay on track to match Roger Federer’s record of six titles at the end-of-season event.
Djokovic, who was comprehensively thrashed by Daniil Medvedev in his second round-robin match, was again below his best at London’s O2 Arena but did enough to win 6-3, 7-6 (7/4).
The five-time winner finishes second in Group Tokyo 2020 behind Medvedev and will play third-seed Dominic Thiem in the semi-finals on Saturday.
Earlier, Rafael Nadal kept alive his hopes of a first ATP Finals title on Thursday when he beat defending champion Stefanos Tsitsipas 6-4, 4-6, 6-2 in London to qualify for the last four ater finishing second in Group London 2020.
The second seeded Spaniard, whose haul of 86 singles titles includes just one on indoor hard courts, is chasing the biggest prize missing from his resume at the eight-man elite event.
The 34-year-old has qualified for the ATP Finals for a record 16 consecutive years but has been forced to withdraw on six occasions.
The second seed won his opening round-robin match against Andrey Rublev but defeat against Dominic Thiem meant he faced a shootout against 2019 champion Tsitsipas to reach the semi-finals.
Djokovic broke Germany’s Zverev at the first time of asking in the empty stadium and raced into a 3-0 lead, threatening to run away with the match -- a repeat of the 2018 final, which Zverev won in straight sets.
The 33-year-old looked focused ater his uncharacteristic mauling by Medvedev, serving himself out of trouble when he found himself trailing 15-40 in the seventh game.
That proved to be the last chance for Zverev in the set and 17-time Grand Slam winner Djokovic hammered a backhand winner down the line to take it 6-3. Djokovic handed Zverev a break point in the fourth game of the second set ater doublefaulting but the German could not capitalise.
The 23-year-old fith seed saved two break points on his serve in the following game, leting out a roar as he kept his nose in front.
The set went to a tie-break. Zverev earned an early mini-break but Djokovic levelled and the pressure was back on the German, who faltered to hand the Serbian victory.
The top seed said he had managed to find the right shots at the right time, in contrast to his performance against Medvedev, saying it was “anybody’s game for most of the match”.
He said Thiem, who won his first Grand Slam at the US Open in September, would be a tough opponent.
“Obviously earlier in his career he played his best on clay but of course being one of the hardest workers on the tour, the most dedicated players, Dominic found his ‘A’ game on all other surfaces,” added Djokovic.
“His first Slam came on hard courts earlier this year in New York. I played him last year here -- I lost 7-6 in the third set. It was really a thrilling match. Hopefully we can have another great match but this time with a different outcome.”
Djokovic, who recently equalled Pete Sampras’s record of six year-end world number one finishes, has the chance to end the coronavirus-truncated 2020 season on a high by joining the absent Federer on six titles.
Medvedev will take on eighth-seed Diego Schwartzman, in the evening match, which is a dead rubber. The O2 Arena is hosting the event for the 12th and final season before the championships move to Turin.
Meanwhile, in the Nadal-tsitsipas match, both players were rock solid on serve until the Spaniard earned the first two break points of the set in the seventh game, which he failed to convert.
Tsitsipas was again under pressure in his next service game and this time he cracked, double-faulting on break point.
Nadal pressed home his advantage, serving consecutive aces to take the set 6-4 against his 22-year-old opponent.
The Spaniard, twice a finalist at the tournament, had another chance to break in the first game of the second set but the Greek sixth seed dug himself out of danger with a searing backhand.
Tsitsipas did well to cling on against his illustrious opponent who was serving with metronomic efficiency and dominating the longer rallies.
But out of nowhere the Greek earned two set points on Nadal’s serve and levelled when the Spaniard double-faulted on the second of those.
The match took a bizarre twist at the start of the decider, with neither player able to hold serve until Nadal finally held to lead 3-1.
An over-hit forehand handed Nadal another break and he served out to take the match.