Ruud vs Djokovic in ATP Finals
*Djokovic - Ruud: 1 am on 21/11, Hanoi time.
The solid play from the baseline helps Ruud counter Rublev's heavy attacking balls. The Norwegian player successfully took advantage of all four break-points in the match to win after 69 minutes. The match could have ended sooner if Ruud hadn't missed the chance to finish the game with a 5-2 lead in the second set.
"I'm feeling good and can do everything with the ball," Ruud said after the game ended. Ruud's second win after five Rublev fights. He previously lost to Rafael Nadal in the last round of the group stage, when he was sure to have a semi-final ticket.
Ruud became the first Scandinavian player to compete for the ATP Finals title since Stefan Edberg in 1990. If he beat Novak Djokovic in the final, Ruud would overtake Nadal to finish the season in second place in the world.
"Djokovic has no weaknesses," replied Ruud when asked about his opponent in the final. "But Djokovic is human too. He lost to Rune two weeks ago in the final. I'm sure Djokovic was under a bit of pressure too. I admit it at the bottom, playing against a five-time ATP Finals champion."
Ruud said he used to watch most of the ATP Finals matches of Djokovic and the "Big 3" group. The 23-year-old player hopes this helps a bit for the final at 1am on November 21, Hanoi time. This season Ruud has lost two major finals, Roland Garros, to Nadal and the US Open, to Carlos Alcaraz.
Djokovic is showing destructive form in four indoor hard court events at the end of the year. He has won 15 of 16 matches, facing the opportunity to win his third championship in the last seven weeks. Djokovic lost just one set on his way to the ATP Finals and had the opportunity to claim a record $4.7 million prize money, as well as equaling Roger Federer's record of six ATP Finals wins.
Djokovic won Ruud all three times, most recently the semi-finals of the Rome Masters on clay for his juniors. The two played each other in the group stage of the ATP Finals last year and Djokovic won in two sets. In three defeats, Ruud has not taken a set of Djokovic.
