World Tour Finals day 8 preview: Djokovic aims for fifth title
We have finally arrived on the last day of the 2015 ATP season. It is the clash of titans as Novak Djokovic seeks to become the first man to win four consecutive World Tour Finals titles while Roger Federer looks to grab a record-extending seventh crown.
It is one shot to glory, but whose day will it be? We preview the final.
(3) Roger Federer v (1) Novak Djokovic
Head-to-head: Federer leads 22-21
This is the final that never happened last year. Tennis fans waiting to see an enthralling contest between two of the sport’s most revered players were left disappointed as Federer had to pull out due to a back injury.
12 months later, we get another chance and the season’s last final cannot get better than this!
World No.1 and four-time World Tour Finals champion Novak Djokovic has been in supreme form this year, amassing as many as 10 titles and 81 match wins. But what stands out the most about the Serb in 2015 is how he has been able to raise his level significantly at the most important matches.
Which is why, it was no surprise that he delivered one of his most impressive performances against long-time nemesis Rafael Nadal in the semi-finals, despite losing a match in the round robin. Even after bludgeoning Kei Nishikori 6-1, 6-1 in his opening match, his level had not been as he would have desired.
The sharpness was shockingly missing against Federer where he slumped in a pile of unforced errors and got his 23-match winning streak snapped. Even in his straight-sets win over Tomas Berdych, there were moments where he stuttered.
But all those fragilities were obliterated once he took the court against Nadal, who was unbeaten in the other group. The 10-time Slam winner executed his gameplan perfectly, unleashing both forehands and backhands with relentless aggression that made it hard for the Spaniard to return. It was an immaculate display that pretty much signalled that he is ready to battle it out for the year’s last title.
Djokovic afterwards refuted Nadal’s claims that he is unbeatable but did emphasize that he felt great about his semi-final performance: “I don’t feel unbeatable, but it does definitely feel great when I’m playing the way I played.”
Is that a warning bell for the man who is now the last player to beat him? Pretty much so, but then six-time winner Roger Federer too has been quite impressive at this World Tour Finals.
He went undefeated in Round Robin with straight-sets victories over Berdych and Djokovic. In his last group assignment, he did struggle but still succeeded in closing out Kei Nishikori in three sets.
The 17-time major champion had a slow start against his compatriot Stan Wawrinka in the semi-finals which raised hope of a repeat of last year’s semi-final thriller. However, after going 2-4 down, the former World No. 1 quickly regained his lost touch. With frequent forays into the net and pinpoint placement of the ball, the third seed snubbed his compatriot’s chances to set up a clash with Djokovic.
Does he look good enough to reprise his impeccable Round Robin display against the Serb in the final? If Roger can continue serving well and keep attacking the net, he does have a chance. After all, he has been the only player this season, who has inflicted three defeats on the World No. 1.
Federer, who now owns a staggering 264 wins indoors is tied at 2-2 with the Serb on this court and 4-4 indoors overall.
With the Serb patrolling the baseline so efficiently, Federer must rely on his attacking instincts to secure an early break and end the match in straight sets. The Swiss’ three 2015 wins over the Serb did finish in straight sets. Roger has been quite good at break point conversions at this World Tour Finals and has had 65% success so far. He should hope for the trend to continue to have any chance against Djokovic because if the contest stretches to the third set, then the balance looks to tilt very much on the Serb’s side.
They have met in two of the biggest finals this year – Wimbledon and the US Open. Federer has had his chances in both but Djokovic simply raised the bar and made the Swiss crumble under relentless pressure. He would perhaps like to end his stellar season on a similar note.
Prediction: Djokovic in three sets