Djokovic wins Tsitsipas for the 9th match in a row

Djokovic only won the ball game once in the whole match, which was Tsitsipas' first game. That is enough for Nole to jump up early and not give the opponent a chance to come back. "Starting the match by winning his match gave me a lot of confidence, because we both understood it was a difficult match," Djokovic said after the match.

Subsequent games only saw one more break-point. Tsitsipas, after losing the first set 4-6, failed to take advantage of the opportunity at the beginning of the second set. The Greek player firmly held the "accident" futures games at the beginning of the match, while putting good pressure on the senior's serve game. But Djokovic's bravery and class helped him stand firm and drag the second set into the tie-break.

A series of self-defeating errors caused Tsitsipas to lead 1-5 in the brainstorming series. The Greek player then won three consecutive points to shorten the gap to one point. Holding the serve at the next two points, Djokovic both had the first ball on the field and made good use of the opportunity, winning 7-4.

The forehand was Nole's highlight in this match, scoring 9.6 by the ATP. Scores above 9.5 from forehand appear in only 0.5% of matches on the ATP Tour this season. In the match against Tsitsipas, Djokovic hit his forehand 73 times, with an average speed of 128.7 km/h and an average spin of 2885 rpm. 23% of Djokovic's forehands resulted in winners.

The 14th victory in the last 15 matches helps Nole increase the record against Tsitsipas to 10-2. He has won nine matches in a row over the past three years, including two in more than two recent weeks. Djokovic's record at the ATP Finals is 42 wins - 17 losses. Since losing his opening match against David Ferrer in 2007, Nole has always won the first leg of his ATP Finals appearances. In the second match, Djokovic met Andrey Rublev - who beat Daniil Medvedev 2-1 in the opening match.

The defeat to Djokovic made Tsitsipas all hope to end the year in number one, despite the Greek player winning the most on the ATP Tour this season (60 matches). The top of the year-end ATP table will belong to Carlos Alcaraz, if Rafael Nadal cannot win the ATP Finals.