Looking back at the last 3 times Novak Djokovic escaped from match points down
Following his exploits at the inaugural 2020 ATP Cup where he won all six of his singles matches for the victorious Team Serbia, Novak Djokovic recovered from two sets to one down in the Australian Open final against Dominic Thiem to clinch a record-extending 8th title at the tournament.
Back at No. 1, the Serb entered Dubai for the first time in four years. After successive straight set wins over Malek Jaziri, Philipp Kohlschreiber and Karen Khachanov, Djokovic met his match against Gael Monfils in the semifinals.
The 32-year-old looked all set to endure defeat against the Frenchman for the first time in 17 matches, going down multiple match points. However, Monfils got tight and Djokovic sensed his opportunity, and the rest is history.
Djokovic returned the following day to beat Stefanos Tsitsipas in straight sets to lift his 5th Dubai Open title.
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On that note, let us re-live the last three occasions when Djokovic fought back from match points down to win a match.
#3 2020 Dubai semifinal - Gael Monfils (saved 3 match points)
Djokovic squared up against Monfils for the 17th time on tour, in the semifinals of the 2020 Dubai Open. For large swathes of the match the Serb looked second best; Monfils took the opening set 6-2 and led by a break in the second as the Frenchman's heavy hitting punctured massive holes in Djokovic's usually formidable defense.
At 6-3 in the second set tiebreak, Monfils had three consecutive match points - two of them on his own serve - to close out his first win against the World No. 1. But it was not to be, as the Frenchman blazed a backhand wide and a forehand long before Djokovic hit a forehand winner to erase the third.
The moment had come and gone for Monfils in a flash, and he would not recover. Though the Frenchman did well to save a seventh set point at 6-7 down with an ace, Djokovic restored parity by forcing a third - where he bulldozed his way to the finish line for the loss of just one game.
It marked the 15th time in his career that Djokovic had won a match after being a point away from defeat. In all but one of these matches (2011 ATP Finals against Tomas Berdych), the Serb saved multiple match points before winning the match.
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