Nitto ATP Finals 2020: Novak Djokovic beats Alexander Zverev in straight sets to qualify for semifinals


Nitto ATP Finals 2020: Novak Djokovic beats Alexander Zverev in straight sets to qualify for semifinals
Novak Djokovic (left) and Alexander Zverev (right)

World No.1 Novak Djokovic faced off against Alexander Zverev in a do-or-die clash at the 2020 ATP Finals, with the winner qualifying for the semifinals and the loser heading out of the tournament.

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Djokovic convincingly defeated the German in straight sets, 6-3, 7-6(4), to book his stop in the semifinals. Djokovic won his first match against Schwartzman in the same fashion but was pummeled by Medvedev in his second clash. Zverev heads out of the tournament after losing 2 matches out of 3.

Djokovic began the match strongly. He set the tone early on winning the first set easily. Zverev did manage to come back powerfully in the second set, taking an early lead. However, Djokovic tamed the energetic German with some fine forehand shots and excellent net play. Zverev committed a lot of unforced errors which took the match away from him.

Djokovic wins the first set with dominant serves

Novak Djokovic

Djokovic dominated the initial stages of the first set. He won the first 2 games on-the-trot with Zverev only managing to win a single point. Djokovic maintained his momentum and won the next game against a hapless-looking Zverev. The Serb played some fine dropshots to puzzle his opponent.

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The score was now set at 3-0, Djokovic was already looking well poised to win the crucial first set. However, the German was in no mood to let that happen. He quickly found some steam in him and took the next game to make the score 3-1. The 2018 Finals Champion started to look more aggressive in the next game, but Djokovic outmuscled him with some powerful aces and restored his 3 game advantage in the set.

The German started the next game with an ace of his own, he capitalized on that strong start and with the help of some smart cross-court shots and pegged Djokovic back to make the score 4-2. Seeing his lead shrinking rapidly, Djokovic wasted no time in restoring his edge. He won the next game with some beautiful forehands to get one step closer to winning the crucial set. Despite Zverev winning the next game, Djokovic managed to close the set in his favor 6-3.

Djokovic wins the second set in tiebreaker

Djokovic qualifies for Semifinals

After struggling against Djokovic in the first set, Zverev started the second set strongly going up 1-0. Djokovic levelled things up in the next game, but a determined Zverev retook the lead in the following game. This back-and-forth continued for another couple of sets. Djokovic equalizing the score and Zverev reclaiming the lead. Djokovic then unleashed his fearless side and with the help of some strong shots managed to catch up with Zverev. This pattern of leading and equalizing between the two threw this set into a tiebreaker.

Zverev started off the tiebreaker with a swift 2-0 lead. But just as Djokovic managed to cut into the German’s lead through the set, he went past Zverev to take the lead this time to 2-3. At this point, Zverev started to look a little distracted, his shots weren’t up to mark and his returns weren’t going well. The Serb took full advantage of this and closed out the tiebreaker 7-4 and won the set and the match to book his place in the semifinals.

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