ATP Finals 2022: Novak Djokovic overcomes Stefanos Tsitsipas in straight sets to begin pursuit of 6th title
Novak Djokovic kickstarted his 2022 ATP Finals campaign with a straightforward victory, defeating Stefanos Tsitsipas in straight sets. Taking on the Greek for the fourth time this year, the 21-time Grand Slam champion executed his gameplan to perfection once more, winning 6-4, 7-6(4).
The Serb began the match with a statement of authority, breaking Tsitsipas' serve in his very first service game. From there on, the duo held serve for the rest of the set before Djokovic wrapped it up 6-4 without facing a break point.
The second set was much more evenly contested, with the pair retaining serves one after the other. This time, Tsitisipas faced no break points at all, while the World No. 8 saved the single break point he faced. In the ensuing tiebreaker, however, the former World No. 1 came out on top, winning five consecutive points at one stage before finishing off the contest.
It was a night where both players had strong performances on serve, as Tsitsipas and Djokovic both won 80% of their first serve points -- 36/45 by the Greek and 37/46 by the Greek. In terms of second serve points, though, the 35-year-old came out on top, winning 76% (13/17) as compared to Tsitsipas' 56% (9/16). All this, despite the 21-time Grand Slam champion serving fewer aces and more double faults when compared to his opponent.
Overall, the seventh seed won 66 points during the encounter, racking up 33 winners while hitting only 12 unforced errors. Tsitsipas, on the other hand, hit 24 winners and 22 unforced errors. With the victory, Novak Djokovic has positioned himself comfortably at the top of the Red Group, followed by Andrey Rublev and Daniil Medvedev.
Stefanos Tsitsipas now has eight straight losses against Novak Djokovic
Thanks to the loss on Monday at the 2022 ATP Finals, Stefanos Tsitsipas now has a 2-10 head-to-head record against Novak Djokovic, with four of the losses coming this year alone. More concerningly, the Greek has now lost eight straight matches against the 21-time Grand Slam champion, four of which have come in finals.
After a close defeat against the Serb at the Paris Masters earlier this month, the recent loss would hurt Tsitsipas more, as he failed to test the World No. 8 as much as he would have liked to on a surface where they are more evenly matched. With showdowns against Daniil Medvedev and Andrey Rublev coming up next, the former World No. 1 will be very confident of his chances of making the knockouts at the tournament.