Nitto ATP Finals 2018, Final: Novak Djokovic vs Alexander Zverev: Preview and Prediction
With Federer crashing out in the semi-final of the Nitto ATP Finals, this may not be the grand finale that most tennis aficionados were looking for in London. But the final between the world number 1 Novak Djokovic and world number 5 Alexander Zverev could still be a historic one.
The Serb is looking for a record-equaling sixth World Tour Finals title, a record currently held by Roger Federer. He has won all his matches in the event in straight sets. If he manages to defeat Zverev in straight sets, as he did in the round robin stage, he will become the first man to win the tournament without losing a single set, since Ivan Lendl in 1986.
Apart from these incentives, Djokovic would also like to pocket the 1500 points on offer by winning the tournament, which will take him further away from the world number 2 Nadal, thus solidifying his stay at the top. In addition, Federer's record of the number of weeks as world number 1 is certainly in the realm of possibility.
On the face of it, this seems likely to end up as a one-sided affair in favour of the Serb. He has been very dominant in all his matches. Against Kevin Anderson in the semi-final, he showcased a level that is scary, to say the least. He broke the big-serving South African four times and gave away only seven points on his own serve in the entire match!
The two matches that Djokovic and Zverev have played this year, at Shanghai and in the round robin stage here, have not even been competitive. Zverev has simply been out-played by Novak in both those matches. However, after suffering that straight-set loss to Novak, Zverev has improved his game by a notch in the last two matches.
He has especially improved his serve, as was evident in both his matches against John Isner and Roger Federer. Against Federer, he won a whopping 90% of his first serve points. Even his return game was in top gear. He managed to break Roger twice and won twenty points on his serve as opposed to only twelve that the Swiss Maestro managed on the German’s serve.
If he is to become the first German to win the title since Boris Becker won it in 1995, Zverev will have to continue his good showing both on his service and return games, and remain focused throughout the match. Unfortunately for him, he could still fall short. At least the match would be competitive, unlike their two previous encounters!
Prediction: Djokovic to win in Straight Sets