Novak Djokovic defeated Stefanos Tsitsipas for the ninth time in a row, this time 6-4, 7-6(4) in the group stage of the ATP Finals on Monday.
Djokovic defeated Tsitsipas in his third tournament in a row after wins in Astana, Kazakhstan and the Paris Masters.
“All the games we’ve played have been decided by two or three points, and that was the case again tonight,” Djokovic noted.
He broke Tsitsipas in the first game and then held on to win the first set.
“A break in these conditions is decisive,” explained Djokovic, referring to the indoor court which he considers fast.
A backhand shot that sent the ball over the line put Djokovic ahead in the second-set tiebreaker.
Tsitsipas has won two of his first three clashes against Djokovic, but he hasn’t taken the measure of the winner of 21 Grand Slam titles for more than three years.
Rublev defeats Medvedev
Earlier on Monday, Russian Andrey Rublev struggled to overcome his compatriot Daniil Medvedev 6-7 (7), 6-3 and 7-6 (7).
After his victory, Rublev wrote: “Peace, peace, peace, that’s all we want” on the lens of a television camera, in reference to the war in Ukraine.
Sixth-seeded Rublev narrowed the gap to 4-2 against fourth-seeded Medvedev in the Red Group duel at the Pala Alpitour in Turin.
The two players know each other well, and it showed in their play. Errors were kept to a minimum — they exchanged a double fault each, and totaled only three unforced errors — during this marathon match, which s is concluded after 2 hours and 31 minutes.
Rublev converted just one of his four break points against Medvedev, and he conceded only one break in two occasions against his opponent. Moreover, Medvedev landed a total of 19 winners compared to 13 for the 25-year-old Russian.
But never mind, Rublev managed to pull out of the game to temporarily climb to the top of his group.