ATP World Tour Finals – Title Match Preview by Jack Fox
It will be fascinating to see how the two warriors fare in the title match for the Barclays World Tour Finals.
First in was Novak Djokovic, tested by an albeit crocked Kei Nishikori, and pushed to three sets. Even though the final set was a romp according to the score-line as the Serb advanced 6-1 3-6 6-0, he was put under pressure in the first game of the final set, and acknowledged that Nishikori is a dangerous fast player who will exploit your weaknesses, as he had done in the second set.
He admitted: “I lost the concentration. I lost the break because of that. I allowed myself to be in the situation to lose the set, maybe even lose the match. So, yeah, generally it was my fault and I should know better.”
One thing that stood out in Djokovic’s match was his reaction to the crowd – and as he is facing Roger Federer in the final, perhaps he should invest in a set of ear defenders. The World No. 2 came through a still more stunning second semi-final where Stan Wawrinka played the kind of tennis that took him to his first Grand Slam title and indeed his first Masters, and within a whisker of his maiden World Tour Finals title tilt.
It was a subdued celebration for Federer, and there is scant time to turn around for the earlier final. Both players are no doubt feeling pretty weary right about now. It feels like they have been playing the round robins since the ark was made, and now all of a sudden we are at the final.
Both can dominate play from the baseline, and both have made the very best of the indoor conditions, the change from the day to the night atmosphere, the works.
Both have also shown a tendency to attack, but you have to give the edge over to Djokovic the longer the rallies go on for. This deserves to be a three setter, and the quality needs to be every bit as high as the semi-finals to lift this tournament up a level from the drabness of some of the earlier rounds.
Topics: Barclays ATP World Tour, Jack Fox, Kei Nishikori, Novak Djokovic, Roger Federer, Tennis, title match preview
THE FINALS ARE LESS THAN 20 ODD HOURS AWAY IT’S BEEN A LONG TOUGH SEASON, IT HAS THE MARKINGS OF BEING ONE… http://t.co/TosnAsci5f #tennis