LONDON, November 17, 2018
Novak Djokovic will face Alexander Zverev in Sunday’s title match of the Nitto ATP Finals. The World No. 1 beat Kevin Anderson, the first African to reach the stage of the last four at the season finale, 6-2, 6-2 on Saturday evening.
Djokovic won 85 per cent of his first serve and broke his opponent four times to seal victory in one hour and 15 minutes.
Four matches. Eight Sets. One win from a 6th #NittoATPFinals title…@DjokerNole sets up a Sunday showdown with Zverev in London! pic.twitter.com/ITdbdQj692
— Tennis TV (@TennisTV) 17. November 2018
“It was the best match that I played this week and it came at the right time,” said Djokovic after reaching the seventh final at the season’s ending tournament. “Kevin played great tennis this week. The crucial stat was to win as many points as possible on his second serve and it worked well.
“I am pleased to play consistently at a high level. This has been one of the most important tournaments of the year for all of us and I am glad to reach the final.”
Djokovic and Zverev will meet for the fourth time. “He played well in the group stage but he wasn’t close to his best. It’s going to be the last match of the year. Let the better win,” Djokovic is looking forward to the title match.
Doubles final set
Earlier in the evening, Pierre-Hugues Herbert and Nicolas Mahut advanced to the doubles final. The No. 8 seeds from France fought past the all-Colombian combination of Juan Sebastian Cabal and Robert Farah, winning 6-3, 5-7, 10-5. The match lasted one hour and 36 minutes. The Frenchmen will take on US-Americans Mike Bryan and Jack Sock at 3 pm local time.
ATP Finals Notes:
- For the first time since 2014 the Top 4 seeds were in the semi-finals at The O2. That year, Djokovic, Federer, Stan Wawrinka and Kei Nishikori were in the stage of the final four.
- Anderson was appearing in the semi-finals in his tournament debut. He followed the footsteps of Grigor Dimitrov, Jack Sock (2017), Kei Nishikori (2014), Stan Wawrinka (2013) and Robin Söderling (2009) – since 2009.
