World primary Novak Djokovic started his quest for a sixth title on the season-ending ATP Finals with a 7-6(4) 6-2 victory over Norway’s Casper Ruud of their spherical robin encounter in Turin on Monday.
Djokovic suffered a fall and misplaced his opening service recreation however recovered to seek out his rhythm in opposition to Ruud, who’s making his debut on the occasion following 5 event wins this season.
“It was strange. I played a good forehand and came into the net and had a comfortable overhead. I slipped, tripped, dropped my racquet and lost my serve,” Djokovic stated.
Incredible restoration from @DjokerNole 😮#NittoATPFinals pic.twitter.com/Fqm5iwQZ4W
— ATP Tour (@atptour) November 15, 2021
“The conditions here are tough. If you lose your serve, it’s difficult to get it back. But I managed to stay in. I’m pleased with the way I handled the match.”
Ruud’s highly effective forehand helped him preserve tempo with Djokovic for a lot of the primary set, however he was outplayed within the tiebreak because the 20-times main winner pressured his 22-year-old opponent right into a string of errors to take the opener.
It was plain crusing within the second set for Djokovic, who broke within the first recreation and dominated the longer rallies as Ruud struggled on serve earlier than finally taking place in an hour and 31 minutes.
Djokovic was later offered with the year-end world primary trophy for a document seventh time, bettering the mark set by 14-times Grand Slam champion Pete Sampras.
“I was four or five when I saw Sampras play at Wimbledon for the first time. I asked for a racquet and fell in love with tennis. To know that I hold this record now, after Pete, it’s incredible,” stated the 34-year-old.Greek world quantity 4 Stefanos Tsitsipas performs Russia’s Andrey Rublev in Monday’s different Green Group conflict.
