DJOKOVIC FIRST TO QUALIFY FOR NITTO ATP TENNIS FINALS “SEMIS” • CILIC STAYS ALIVE WITH WIN OVER JOHN ISNER

Written by: Staff on 14th November 2018

DJOKOVIC FIRST TO QUALIFY FOR NITTO ATP TENNIS FINALS "SEMIS" • CILIC STAYS ALIVE WITH WIN OVER JOHN ISNER

epa07165011 Serbia's Novak Djokovic in action during his round-robin tennis match against Germany's Alexander Zverev of the ATP World Tour Finals tennis tournament at the O2 Arena in London, Britain, 14 November 2018. EPA-EFE/NEIL HALL |

Serbia’s Novak Djokovic in action during his round-robin tennis match against Germany’s Alexander Zverev of the ATP World Tour Finals tennis tournament at the O2 Arena in London, Britain, 14 November 2018. EPA-EFE/NEIL HALL

By Ricky Dimon

The world No. 1 has become the No. 1 qualifier for semifinal Saturday at the Nitto ATP Finals.

Novak Djokovic booked his spot the last four with a straight-set win over Alexander Zverev on Wednesday afternoon, which eventually clinched his top-two spot in Group A when Marin Cilic defeated John Isner in three sets during the nightcap.

The seventh consecutive straight-set match inside the O2 Arena–13th consecutive if you include doubles–went the way of Djokovic via a commanding 6-4, 6-1 scoreline.

Only at 4-4 in the opening frame of play was there any real drama. Zverev got a look at two break points that would have given him a 5-4 advantage and allowed him to serve for the opener. However, Djokovic fought off one with a service winner and another following an extended rally that ended with the 21-year-old erring on a backhand lob just wide. That proved to be Zverev’s last gasp, as he double-faulted at 4-5, 30-40 to conclude the set and then disappeared throughout the second.

“Obviously I had chances in the first set,” the world No. 5 reflected. “If I break him at 4-all, we’ll see where the match goes. I think the match was much closer than the score says; for sure I feel that way…. If I made the break, it goes the other direction a little bit; I’m serving for the set. Even though I lost that game, I still [felt] very comfortable that I [could] hold. But it happens. He’s No. 1 in the world for a reason.”

“It seemed like Sascha was not feeling really great; definitely not playing well, especially from the back of the court,” Djokovic noted. “He made a lot of errors. (It) wasn’t a great quality tennis match, to be honest.”

John Isner of the USA in action against Croatia’s Marin Cilic during their round robin match of the ATP World Tour Finals tennis tournament in London, Britain, 14 November 2018. EPA-EFE/NEIL HALL

The 14-time major champion won’t have to be great against Cilic on Friday to keep his London hopes alive because all he needed to clinch a semifinal berth was one set from Isner on Wednesday night. Isner bagged that right away–taking a tiebreaker against the Croat before eventually succumbing 6-7(2), 6-3, 6-4.

A surprising run of three consecutive service breaks against the 6’10” American made the difference for Cilic late in the second and early in the third. The world No. 7 dropped only three points in his last four service games to wrap up his comeback win.

“It’s very weird to think I’ve lost twice but still have a shot (at the semifinals),” Isner said. “I guess that’s the advantage of having a guy like Novak in your group. I have an objective, for sure; we’ll see if I can do it. It’s going to be very tough (against Zverev), no doubt.”

All eight players–all four in each group–are still mathematically alive heading into the final two days of round-robin action at the O2.