FEDERER & DJOKOVIC SHINE, ONE MURRAY ON THE SCOREBOARD (JAMIE) – GLOBAL CHICK CHECKS IN FROM LONDON AT THE ATP BARCLAYS TENNIS YEAR END FINALS

Written by: Global Chick on 15th November 2015

FEDERER & DJOKOVIC SHINE, ONE MURRAY ON THE SCOREBOARD (JAMIE) - GLOBAL CHICK CHECKS IN FROM LONDON AT THE ATP BARCLAYS TENNIS YEAR END FINALS

epa05027414 Switzerland's Roger Federer returns the ball to Tomas Berdych of Czech Republic during their match at the ATP World Tour Finals in London, Britain, 15 November 2015. EPA/WILL OLIVER |

Hands up who remembers last year? We had weather. Plenty of weather. And we had good matches… and quick matches. Yes we had plenty of those too.

Talk about déjà vu! There was plenty of Brit interest on show as the canny organisers have thought about this well. Rather than have a Murray extravaganza (a Murray-ganza, if you will), they have the brothers scheduled to play on different days. Double the Murray pulling power.

Talking of doubles, it was Murray senior off the blocks first to kick the whole tournament off, and it did not disappoint. A tightly contested start between two-time Slam finalists this year Jamie Murray and John Peers against the Australian Open champions Simone Bolelli and Fabio Fognini.

The serving from the Commonwealth pair in the first set was suitably in the name of the old Empire, as neither pairing gave an inch, with the Brit and Aussie duo clinching the first set tie-break.

They lost a little of that momentum as the second set rolled around and the Italians (in between a lot of animated chatter and general gesticulation) found their groove and got themselves back into the match.

They made a good fist of it too, in the tie-break, but Murray and Peers are looking to end their partnership on a high, and what better way to do that than to edge the Match Tie-break in a high quality starter for the whole tournament, as they edged it 7-6(5) 3-6 11-9.

Murray said: “It was a great match, really exciting match. I think both teams played well. There was a lot of exciting points. It came down to a couple of points right at the end. Yeah, really happy to win and really excited to move on in the tournament.”

On to the three time defending champion Novak Djokovic. Shades of 2014 rolled in for all and sundry as he effectively slammed the hammer down on Kei Nishikori’s trademark rapidity around the court. His serving was supreme, and even Nishikori had to admit that this had been a bit of a beating.

“Obviously I didn’t make any first serve today, so that cause lot of pressure that he always have a good return. I thought didn’t play bad. I had great points with groundstrokes. I think my serve was the key. Both sets I lost my first service game.

“That gave me a little pressure to come back. I mean, he also played unbelievable tennis. Very ashamed with this score, but have two more matches. So I try to keep it up my serve tomorrow and next match.”

Serbia’s Novak Djokovic in action against Japan’s Kei Nishikori during their match at the ATP World Tour Finals in London, Britain, 15 November 2015. EPA/WILL OLIVER

Djokovic was quick to praise the skills that Nishikori undoubtedly has, even if he did effectively consign them to the large bins the security guards make people put their (reasonably priced) drinks and sarnies in before they enter the arena.

“Today I’ve had for an opponent one of the quickest tennis players, somebody that possesses a lot of talent and loves to play aggressively. But I didn’t allow him to dictate the play. I mixed up the pace.

“I was feeling very comfortable on the court, feeling like I could get most of the balls back. I served efficiently. I mixed up the second serves as well. Didn’t give him really the same look twice. I always tried to change. The tactics worked very well.”

Things went less well for the Bryans. Deposed from the top spot by the well-liked Marcelo Melo, They struggled to find their usual rhythm against a focused Rohan Bopanna and Florin Mergea who beat them in straight sets 6-4 6-3.

Onto the main show, and once more Roger Federer provided a mastercalss to the hapless Tomas Berdych. Perhaps because H&M had chosen to dress him in flesh coloured shorts that did distract us, he too was distracted enough. Sure Berdych started well enough, with a quick break but was smacked right back down straight away with a break back.

The first set was at least competitive though, with Federer breaking once more at the end, before putting immaculately designed sneaker-pedal the metal and running away with a 4-0 lead in the second set. It was really all that Berdych could do to at least save face and get a couple of games on the board.

It’s a great start for Federer, despite his assessment of a terrible start (certainly by his standards, as he explained: “I think what I underestimated a little bit in some ways was that it was a first round. I think I was playing very well in practice. I had a very good idea with Severin and Stefan how I should play the match.

“When I came in, I kind of forgot it was a first round. I do have to be a little bit careful as well at times. I was a bit sluggish coming in. I don’t want to say too overconfident, but I thought it was going to be easier than that. It was a good lesson for me to learn. But now I’m in the second round, so that’s a good thing.”

Preview – Day 2

Another day, another Murray. This time Andy will do the honours as he starts his singles campaign against the somewhat tenacious David Ferrer. Although Murray handed the Spaniard a bit of a lesson in Paris, they have been known to have quite the ding-dong on court.

Murray will want to avoid a painful three-setter as he still makes that transition from his clay-court preparations for the Davis Cup final and will really need to up the aggression. Perhaps try and join the queue for a Starbucks in the morning. That should do the trick.

Our Dark Horse is Stan Wawrinka, and he takes on Rafael Nadal, who was in quite the puckish mood in pre-tournament press rather pointedly emphasising that his results (or perhaps lack thereof) this year were down to playing badly and not injuries.

Wawrinka seems to be the one with some momentum on his side, and when he is on, he has proved himself to beat the best in the world. If he has his A-Game today, he will be one up in his bid to make his third semi-final in a row.

Play starts on Monday at 12pm GMT.

Tidbits

· Nishikori is the baby of this year’s crop – just 25 years of age.

· Fatherhood obviously agrees with Djokovic – he is now 87-5 since October 21, 2014 winning 12 titles in 16 finals. Reports one of those titles includes one for nappy-changing are so far unsubstantiated.

· The Bryans are still trying to hold off three other teams to finish No. 1 for the 11th time in 13 years.

· Roger Federer was presented with his 12th ATP Fans Favourite Award and his 11st Stefan Edberg Sportsmanship Award.

Topics: Barclays ATP World Tour Finals, global chick, London tennis, Novak Djokovic, Roger Federer, Sports, Tennis News

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10sBalls_com says:

November 15, 2015 at 4:47 pm

Federer & Djokovic Shine, One Murray On The Scoreboard-Global Chick Checks In From London At The ATP Year End Finals
https://t.co/VCjfXP1yEK