2018 ATP Tour Finals, London

[klacr]

Federer did something he has never done in ATP Tour finals history...
He lost a match in straight sets in the group stage. That in itself is a pretty spectacular record.

Kyle LaCroix USPTA
Boca Raton

[bman]

He has lost in straights in the semi and finals stage, just never in the group stage.

[stotty]

Spare a thought for the O2 spectators today. Nishikori barely turned up and lost 6-0 6-1 to Anderson. Thiem, who is like a fish out of water at the O2, nosedives 6-2 6-3 in an hour, if that. Those tickets are hundreds of pounds a pair.

This is why I never go to the tour finals. You can pay a lot and get very little. At Wimbledon you pay less money and get far, far more tennis.

Still, at least Roger looks back on track.

[stotty]

Djokovic defeats Zverev in two straight. It was competitive in the first set and Zverev even had a run of luck in the ninth game yet still couldn't earn the break. Djokovic shut the door and that was that. I think Djokovic is even better than he was. He is volleying better and hitting his sliced backhand a little better also. His occasional poor decision making (silly drop shots, etc.) seems to have disappeared also.

Djokovic is going to take some beating.

[klacr]

With Nishikori's loss to Thiem earlier today, it gives Federer a good chance of making it through group stage to face Djokovic in semis. Federer has to win at least one set or in case of a straight set loss, five games in total if both sets go to six, or six games in total if one set goes to seven.

Kyle LaCroix USPTA
Boca Raton

[gzhpcu]

Baffling: Nishikori beats Federer in straight sets. Federer beats Thiem in straight sets. Thiem beats Nishikori in straight sets.

[bman]

Fed up 4-3 in first. With a break. Fed is back.

[stroke]

15th Semi Final in 16 appearances. Inimitable.

[stotty]

It was never in doubt in my view. He was always going to win the last two matches. By my calculation he has topped the group, so we are still on track for a Novak v Roger final, assuming Novak slip up and end up coming second in his group, which, I think, is possible.

Good to see Roger in better form than day one.

[gzhpcu]

Federer seems unpredictable at times. He can play brilliantly, like he did against Anderson, then also play well under par, as he did against Nishikori. Trait of a genius, I suppose... this can also happen in a match, like the final tiebreak against Djokovic in Paris.

[bottle]

Interesting remark about genius.

[stotty]

Great performance by Zverev to take down Roger. He served well and was better off the ground. He kept Roger nicely hemmed in on his backhand and kept a good length. He waited and bided his time really well, unlike all the other times he's played Roger. Is the kid about to break through?

Novak completely outclassed Anderson who had to serve out of a tree to win any points at all. It's scary the level Novak is playing at at the moment. He is hardly missing a ball. He suffocates opponents.

I am hoping Zverev just throws caution to the wind and goes for it. He needs to be way more assertive than the last time they played. I would like to see him really take on Novak's second serve and hug the baseline in the rallies. You can't rally with Novak, you have to punch a hole through him. Zverev has nothing to lose and will be on hiding to nothing if he plays even remotely conservatively.

[stotty]

A good match by Zverev. He was assertive and patient and took the game to Djokovic. He served great in the first set, and his forehand stood up well throughout the entire match. He was hitting a miraculous length at times - much like his opponent usually does - and wasn't afraid to drill deep into Djokovic's backhand.

I couldn't understand why Djokovic fell away so tamely in the end. I thought he would really want to match Roger's six ATP finals record. His trademark backhand wasn't firing today. In fact, he rarely attempted an incisive strike down the line.

Next for Zverev is to achieve better success in the slams. He's still only 21 so he's ahead of time, but the sooner he can net a slam, the sooner he will get respected as a proper player.

[bottle]

I saw this link first, Stotty's post second. Here's a Brit article about the Brit O2 happening: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/tennis/2...score-updates/

[stotty]

I saw this link first, Stotty's post second. Here's a Brit article about the Brit O2 happening: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/tennis/2...score-updates/

A good assessment. I was intrigued the way Zverev played the match tactically. There was little bit of route one tennis in there but not much. Instead he drove the ball deep, sometimes very deep into Novak's backhand, pushing him way back behind the baseline. Novak didn't use anything like the same width as he had been doing all week and instead to hit way too much down the middle. Novak looked okay, though, at least until 4-4 in the first. Another thing Zverev did well was to stay in, and win, many of the longer rallies. I felt that turned out to be crucial.

I think there is a pressure valve that builds with continual winning. Novak hadn't dropped his serve all week, hadn't lost a set, and had hardly lost in 6 months. Sooner or later the pressure to keep doing that reaches a climax and has to implode. It must almost seem like a release when you finally lose. Not that I would know from experience, of course, since I have never won 30 matches in a row or got even close to doing so.