Djokovic comes from behind to begin ATP World Tour Finals with victory

USUALLY SO CALM on the court, Novak Djokovic lost his cool in the aftermath of his ATP World Tour Finals victory over Dominic Thiem yesterday when he was questioned about his behaviour.

LONDON, ENGLAND – The season finale gets underway with at least one Murray in action, as defending champion Novak Djokovic opens the week’s play at the Barclays ATP World Tour Finals.

Jamie now sits at four in the doubles rankings, with no chance to claim the number one spot before the end of the year, but he and Soares could leapfrog Nicolas Mahut and Pierre-Hugues Herbert to become the number one team.

Djokovic’s gloomy mood was hardly improved when Thiem took the first set in a dramatic tie-break after the Serb had saved six set points and squandered one of his own. Djokovic took the second set in just 23 minutes, went up an early break in the third and quickly closed out victory.

It was a stark contrast to a closely fought first set as Djokovic levelled the match with a statement 6-0 win.

“I didn’t manage to win that first set, of course you’re frustrated”.

Jamie and Soares begin their campaign on Sunday against eighth seeds Treat Huey and Max Mirnyi while Andy faces Marin Cilic in his opener on Monday evening.

“I have to obviously focus on myself, on my game, and implement as well a few tactical things I know from playing Andy”. The early blow ensured there was an air of inevitability about the result and soon Djokovic had a second break which confirmed a valuable 200 ranking points towards his hopes of claiming the year-end number one for a third straight year. “The great start of the second set helped me to regroup”.

“I think I have had a good couple of months”.

Thiem managed to hold serve at the start of the decider, but he then surrendered his second service game and was unable to recover.

Both meetings this season saw Cilic more than competitive, with the win in Cincy preceded by a deciding set win for Murray in the semi finals of Queen’s Club on the grass and with conditions being much quicker at the O2 than before this should also be close.

First up is Cilic, who beat Murray last time out in Cincinnati three months ago but has won just three of their 14 matches.

Djokovic is chasing a record-equaling sixth Tour Finals title in London, which would see him immediately regain the No. 1 ranking form Murray. That’s why they cheered a lot for me I guess.

He explained: “Winning the French Open this year has brought a lot of joy to me but on the other hand has taken away a lot from me, as well”.

“I lost a little bit of energy, not much, but just a little bit (after the first set)”, Thiem said. “Compared to the last few tournaments, it was a very good match for me today”. “All in all it was an unbelievable experience to play in front of this great crowd”, Thiem said after the loss.

Federer and Nadal are due to return to work in the new year but whether they can get back to the top is anyone’s guess.