London, Nov. 17, (dpa/GNA) – World number one Novak Djokovic began his campaign for a record-equalling sixth ATP Finals title in London on Monday, cruising to a 6-3, 6-2 victory over Argentina’s Diego Schwartzman.
The 33-year-old Serb now leads the Tokyo 1970 round-robin group of four players after Russian Daniil Medvedev defeated Germany’s 2018 champion Alexander Zverev 6-3, 6-4 for his first ever ATP Finals victory.
All games at the O2 Arena are played without spectators because of coronavirus restrictions. Djokovic said it brings a sad end to London’s 12-year run as host before the event moves to Turin, Italy in 2021.
“It felt like a practice session, in a way,” Djokovic said when asked about the lack of crowd.
“I do miss the crowd. Hopefully this is only temporary. This has been one of the most exciting arenas to play for a tennis player.”
Medvedev and Zverev met for the second time in two weeks after Medvedev won the Paris Masters title, beating the German in the final.
Both players traded breaks in the opening two games and Zverev scrambled around the court chasing a 29-stroke rally as he tried to edge ahead with another break.
His efforts were thwarted by superb defence from Medvedev as the Bercy champion dismissed four more break chances and escaped a test of groundstroke muscle.
“I’m on the rise after Paris and I had some energy that I cannot explain,” said Medvedev.
“Today I felt like many of our shots were easy to reach and that’s why I was good in defence and won the match.”
An uneasy serve saw Zverev concede the next break with his sixth double-fault to hand Medvedev a two-game gap at 4-2.
“My serve was not quite there today,” said Zverev. “All in all, it wasn’t a good match for me. I think since the restart of the season, it was one of the worst ones.”
Medvedev shook his racket in celebration after a blistering forehand winner consolidated his lead and ultimately saw him wrap up the first set with an ace.
Zverev hit the net at 3-3 in the second set to fall behind another break as Medvedev closed in on his first ever victory at the O2 Arena after an unsuccessful debut last year where he lost all three group matches.
A sneaky underarm serve helped Medvedev to a 5-3 lead and he completed the match inside 90 minutes with a short and swift backhand winner.
“I didn’t do it to have a laugh and mock him. I did it to win the point,” Medvedev commented on his underarm tactics.
“It was just in the moment because I saw him really far back and he managed to get it back but I won the point and that’s most important. I won’t be doing it often.”
Djokovic was crowned the year-end number one for a sixth time on Sunday but in his opening group match he had to overcome a shaky start after conceding the first break to trail 2-1.
Djokovic remained confident and composed in his exchanges and a sharp forehand finisher earned the Serb a 5-3 lead and he capped the frame with an overwhelming delivery.
Schwartzman, who was making his first appearance at the season-ending tournament, crumbled in the second set as the eighth seed fell 4-1 behind and Djokovic wrapped up the win with a volley in 78 minutes.
The ATP Finals features the world’s top eight tennis players in two groups of four with the best two in each group advancing to the semi-finals to play for a spot in the November 22 final.
Rafael Nadal and Dominic Thiem claimed opening wins against Andrey Rublev and defending champion Stefanos Tsitsipas in the London 2020 group on Sunday.
GNA