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Starting his fourteenth ATP Finals campaign, no. 1 Novak Djokovic defeated Casper Ruud 7-6, 6-2 in one hour and 30 minutes. En route to Turin after securing the 37th Masters 1000 crown in Paris, Novak struggled a bit early in the match against a rookie before backing off and controlling the pace for the remainder of the clash.
Thus, the five-time ATP Finals champion secured the 39th victory in this event, equaling Ivan Lendl for second place and only behind Roger Federer, who stands at 59. The Serbian was only 12 points behind. initial shot, facing that lonely break.
point in the opening game of the match and securing three breaks of five chances to seal the deal in straight sets and make a winning start. Novak had the upper hand in the shorter and more advanced exchanges, taming his punches well despite occasional mistakes and sailing to the finish line with a good performance in set number two.
Struggling to find first serve, Djokovic broke down in the first game of the match, falling to the ground at the last point and giving his opponent an early lead. The Norwegian cemented the break with a service winner in the second game and stayed at 30 the next time he served after a loose forehand from Djokovic to open a 3-1 gap.
Finding range from him after an early setback, Novak fired an unreturned serve in the fifth game to cut the deficit and bounced back a few minutes later after Casper's double fault to gain momentum. The Norwegian defended himself from two set points in the 10th game, the second with an incredible forehand, to provoke Novak's frustration, although the Serbian remained calm and introduced a tie break.
World no. 1 he sprayed a forehand error in the fifth point to go 3-2 behind before retiring the mini-break and leveling the score at 4-4 with a forehand on the winning line. Djokovic painted another forehand winner at 6-4 to secure the opener in 61 minutes and become a huge favorite before set number two.
Federer on how he wants his fans to remember him
In a recent telephonic conversation with journalist Mathieu Aeschmann, Roger Federer revealed how he wants his fans to remember him. He clearly stated that instead of watching him play for the last time at the Wimbledon Championships, he would want people to remember him because of his famous wins and the impact he has had on the sport.
“What kind of image will people remember of me? My last set at Wimbledon last July? Or my Grand Slam titles and what it triggered in them when they watched me play? My money is on the latter. For a few years now, I’ve been pretty relaxed about that,” said Federer.
The Swiss Maestro, in a way, highlighted that there is no right time to retire. This might be a hint that the 40-year-old is not planning to feature in any sort of farewell match.
