2018 ATP World Tour Finals: Novak Djokovic vs Alexander Zverev, Preview and Prediction
Both the top seed Novak Djokovic and third seed Alexander Zverev face each other after registering impressive wins in their respective first-round matches of the ATP World Tour Finals.
After surrendering his 22-match winning streak to Karen Khachanov in the Paris Masters final, it was important for the world number 1 to re-assert his supremacy in London. He was blown away in that match by the powerful serve and forehand of the Russian.
He was going to face a similar opponent in the first round of the World Tour Finals in John Isner – the one with the bullet serve coming from a Himalayan height and with powerful forehands. A second consecutive loss to yet another big-server would have cast doubts on Djokovic’s aura of invincibility.
But as it turned out, the Serbian proved that his weak show against the Russian was just an aberration and he had the game to counter big servers, rather effortlessly. The straight sets victory over Isner and the nature of the victory must have brought back all the confidence he may have lost after the unexpected loss to Khachanov.
Against Isner, Djokovic was at his absolute best. Apart from his usually spectacular return games, he displayed a flawless game on his own serve. He broke Isner three times in the match, not an insignificant achievement by any means. And he never got broken even once. He won 87% of his points on first serve and a whopping 92% on his second!
His opponent in the next round is the world number 5 Alexander Zverev, who too is coming off a morale-boosting victory over world number 7 Marin Cilic, his sixth straight win over the Croatian. But unlike Djokovic, he did not really showcase a dominant performance.
Zverev’s victory over Cilic owed a lot to how awfully Cilic played in that match. The German was far from his best when it came to serving. He won only 56% of his second serves and got broken twice during the match. It’s Cilic’s nerves during the two tie-breaks which were probably the difference between the two in that match.
If Zverev has to have any chance against Djokovic, he must be at his absolute best. Novak is the best returner in the game, and if Zverev continues to serve the way he did against Cilic, he will even fail to make the match competitive.
What goes in favour of Zverev is that unlike most top players, he does not come to this match against Djokovic with the baggage of having a losing head to head record. He has played against the Serbian only twice, winning one of those.
But in the last match that he played against the Serbian at Shanghai, he was simply routed. If he wants to avoid a similar fate in this match, he must bring his A game and hope that Novak’s level drops a bit.
Prediction: Djokovic to win in Straight Sets