Novak Djokovic was forced to work hard on Sunday for his Group Ivan Lendl match win at the Barclays ATP World Tour Finals. The second seed overcame eighth seed Dominic Thiem, a first-time qualifier, 6-7(10), 6-0, 6-2, in the pair’s fourth meeting.
“Even though I lost the first set, I thought I didn't do too many things wrong. It was just the very high quality of his game that prevailed in the first set,” said Djokovic. “I started swinging more freely in the second set. He started making more errors, which I used. I was on top of his second serves, putting a lot of pressure. I thought I played very well in the second set especially, but the third as well.”
Djokovic, who has a 62-8 record and seven titles in 2016, is also fighting fellow 29-year-old Andy Murray for year-end No. 1 in the Emirates ATP Rankings. The Serbian is looking to take that honour for the fifth time in the past six years.
Djokovic was unable to capitalise on early nerves from eighth seed Thiem, who quickly settled down with a high percentage of his first serves and deep groundstrokes into the court. Although Thiem led 40/15 at 1-2, he was forced to save one break point and subsequently grew in confidence on the fast court at The O2 in London. Djokovic gifted Thiem a break point at 5-5, 30-all, with a mistimed backhand, but the Austrian was unable to convert the opportunity.
In a tense tie-break, their first in four meetings, Thiem dominated with his single-handed backhand, drawing Djokovic to the net for a number of stunning passing strokes that Djokovic could only smile at. Thiem opened up a 6/3 advantage, but then struck two double faults and hit a backhand into the net. But Thiem was fortuitous with a backhand hitting the tape and catching a net-rushing Djokovic off-guard.
At 7/6, Thiem fired a backhand wide and glared at his team, including coach Gunter Bresnik. Djokovic saved a fourth set point and eventually secured his first set opportunity at 9/8, but his lob landed just long and Thiem breathed a sigh of relief. At the seventh time of asking at 11/10, Thiem ripped a forehand winner and pumped his fist in celebration after 76 minutes of play.
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“When I had a great comeback saving six, seven set points, then I didn't manage to win that first set, of course you're frustrated,” said Djokovic. “On the other hand, I think I managed to compose myself and really gather all my attention and concentration to what was coming up after that.”
The second set, by contrast, was one-way traffic for Djokovic. Refocused on the court where he has compiled a 18-1 record over the past four years, he swept through the 22-minute set and Thiem won just 10 points.
Djokovic, who had lost 21 games in three previous matches against Thiem, continued to hold the upperhand in the deciding set with service breaks in the third and seventh games. He closed it out to love after two hours and two minutes of play.
Thiem, who was the eighth and final player to qualify for this year’s Barclays ATP World Tour Finals, dropped to a 57-23 match record on a career-best season.