NITTO ATP TENNIS FINALS DAY 2 PREVIEWS AND PICKS: ZVEREV VS. CILIC, DJOKOVIC VS. ISNER • LONDON 02 ARENA

Written by: on 11th November 2018
Paris Masters 2018 tennis tournament
NITTO ATP TENNIS FINALS DAY 2 PREVIEWS AND PICKS: ZVEREV VS. CILIC, DJOKOVIC VS. ISNER • LONDON 02 ARENA

epa07137459 Marin Cilic of Croatia in action against Novak Djokovic of Serbia during their quarter final match at the Rolex Paris Masters tennis tournament in Paris, France, 02 November 2018. EPA-EFE/IAN LANGSDON  |
Marin Cilic of Croatia in action against Novak Djokovic of Serbia during their quarter final match at the Rolex Paris Masters tennis tournament in Paris, France, 02 November 2018.  EPA-EFE/IAN LANGSDON

 

 

By Ricky Dimon

 

Novak Djokovic, Alexander Zverev, Marin Cilic, and John Isner will contest their opening matches at the Nitto ATP Finals on Monday. Isner is making his London debut, while the other three have varying degrees of experience at the year-end championship. Djokovic, of course, is the world No. 1 and odds-on title favorite.

 

Ricky, who will be inside the O2 Arena from start to finish, previews Day 2 and makes his predictions.

 

(3) Alexander Zverev vs. (5) Marin Cilic

Zverev and Cilic will be squaring off for the seventh time in their careers on Monday. The head-to-head series stands at a dominant 5-1 in favor of Zverev, who has won each of their last five encounters and is 3-1 lifetime against Cilic on hard courts (including 1-0 at this tournament). They also collided during round-robin competition last season, when the German got the job done 6-4, 3-6, 6-4.

 

A trip to the Year End championships is nothing new for Cilic, who is making his fourth appearance. But to say the seventh-ranked Croat has been unsuccessful would be a gross understatement, as he has never advanced to the semis and is just 1-8 for his career. Cilic’s current is lackluster, too; he is a mere 4-6 in his last 10 matches dating back to a five-set loss to Kei Nishikori in the U.S. Open quarters.

 

Zverev is making his third London appearance at just 21 years old. The world No. 5 continues to underwhelm at majors, but he comfortably qualified for these festivities at the O2 Arena thanks to three titles (including his third career Masters 1000 triumph in Madrid) and a runner-up showing in Miami. Zverev is a solid 9-4 this fall and has reached at least the quarters of three straight events–including SFs in Shanghai and Basel.

 

Both current form and past history in this matchup favor the third seed, but Cilic should at least be competitive. The 30-year-old has lost only one match in straight sets since Rome.

Pick: Zverev in 3

 

(1) Novak Djokovic vs. (8) John Isner

Novak Djokovic of Serbia returns the ball to Karen Khachanov of Russia during their final match at the Rolex Paris Masters tennis tournament in Paris, France, 04 November 2018. EPA-EFE/Ian Langsdon

Djokovic has won four of the last five huge tournaments (slams and Masters 1000s) and he is 31-2 in his last 33 matches heading into London. But that does not mean he is immune to imminent danger right from the start at this difficult event.

 

Because matches involving Isner are almost always close to 50-50, lower-ranked opponents often relish opportunities to get a shot at the 6’10” American whereas the top players always want to avoid him. It is Djokovic who will be running into Isner right off the bat on Monday evening at the O2.

 

They have collided on 10 previous occasions and the Serb is holding an 8-2 lead in the head-to-head series. Six of their first seven contests required final sets, with Isner winning two of those deciders, but since then Djokovic has seized complete control. The 31-year-old has reeled off four consecutive straight-set victories against Isner, including three in 2015 to extend his winning streak against the former college standout (at UGA) to five.

 

This probably isn’t the right time for Isner to be getting his first crack at the 14-time major champion in more than three years. After all, Djokovic has been nothing short of on fire since the start of Wimbledon despite finally running out gas and losing to Karen Khachanov in the Paris Masters final. Moreover, Djokovic is 31-11 lifetime at the year-end championship with five titles and one runner-up finish

 

Isner, on the other hand, is making his Nitto ATP Finals debut. He had been the second alternate at No. 10 in the rankings before benefiting from withdrawals by Rafael Nadal and Juan Martin Del Poto. Although Isner has played sparingly this fall, he put himself in position for YEC qualification with the biggest title of his career in Miami, a semifinal run at Wimbledon, another title in Atlanta, and a quarterfinal result at the U.S. Open.

 

As usual, the 33-year-old will surely be competitive. But this is an unfamiliar setting for him and it is not a great matchup because Djokovic boasts what is perhaps the sport’s best return of serve.

Pick: Djokovic in 2

 

Ricky contributes to 10sballs.com and also maintains his own tennis website, The Grandstand. You can follow him on twitter at @TennGrand.

 

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