Novak Djokovic will take on Tomas Berdych at the Barclays ATP World Tour Finals – Tennis News
World number one, Novak Djokovic, will lock horns with the fifth seed, Tomas Berdych from Czech Republic, in his third round robin match at the Barclays ATP World Tour Finals on Friday. He notched up a three setter victory against the home favourite, Andy
Murray, whereas the Czech number one stomped over seventh seeded Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in their second round robin matches.
The top seed is in spectacular run of form this circuit. He started this year campaign in high spirit. Djokovic unleashed his true colours at the Australian Open, first of the four Grand Slam events held in Melbourne, and eventually conquered the event.
He maintained his intensity throughout the circuit and bagged five year-to-date titles.
The Belgrade native, Djokovic entered this indoor hard court tournament after crashing out form his opening match at the BNP Paribas Masters in Paris. However, he unleashed his skills here and is unbeaten in Group A. The Serb made a drastic entry at The
O2 Arena and suffered the first blow in the opening game. He lost the opening set but rebounded afterwards, eventually sealing the deal in two hours and 34 minutes.
Djokovic stated about his next match-up in a post match press conference:
“The good thing about this format, it gives you a day to recover. I'm going to need that day tomorrow. [I will] just try to take it easy, work on some things a little bit on the practice. Then, of course, get on the court and try to win.”
The 25-year-old will square off against the Czech star for 12th time with Djokovic leading in their FedEx ATP (Association of Tennis Professionals) Head 2 Head Series by 10-1. Their previous battle was held at the Shanghai Rolex Masters last month
where the Serb recorded a 6-3, 6-4 victory in 86 minutes. Djokovic dropped his serve once but cashed all three break chances to steal the limelight.
Berdych reflected about his next match-up:
“I don't like mathematics at all. I will try to play tennis, and that's it. I will try my best. But Novak just [has] shown how great he's playing right now and that he deserve to be [the] No. 1 player in the world. It's a huge challenge for me.”
The 27-year-old registered his first success on British soil after overpowering the French star. He required a single break of serve in the 11th game to bag the opener. However, Berdych dropped his serve in the fourth game of the following set
and levelled the set scores. In the final set, the Czech went berserk and after reeling off last five games, he pulled out the victory with a breadstick.
Ranked sixth in the South African Airways ATP World Tour Rankings, Berdych grabbed the If Stockholm Open title last month and is in great run of form. However, the Serbian ace is another class and is expected to formulate a 6-2, 6-3 victory against Berdych.
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