The 2020 ATP Finals is underway and we have seen some brilliant performance from the top-ranked players in the ATP since the event began on Sunday, November 15.
The ATP Finals is a tournament that features 8 of the top-ranked singles and doubles players in the ATP who compete in round robin stages. Here are some of the things that have happened so far.
On Sunday, Dominic Thiem made light work of defending champion, Stefanos Tsitsipas in a game of 3 rounds (7-6 4-6 6-3). Both men met last year at the finals where Tsitsipas triumphed and took him the crown. Now, one year later, Thiem had the chance for revenge and did not waste it at all. Later in the day, Spanish legend, Rafael Nadal took on Andrey Rublev.
This was Rublev’s first time at the tournament and he suffered in the hands of the former world number one in just two sets (6-3 6-4). Thanks to the straight win, Nadal moved one point above Them and would face him next. On that, he said; “I know I have a super difficult match against Dominic but a win in two sets helps for the confidence.” Rublev blamed his failure on his nerves and was so frustrated at some point that he threw his racquet across the court.
World number one, Novak Djokovic, on Monday, triumphed over Diego Schwartzman in a game of two sets (6-3 6-2). After the match, Schwartzman commented; “It is difficult when you have just a small chance against Djokovic and you don’t make that chance. I did wrong things and from then it is a difficult match. Everything is difficult against Novak. When he is playing his best he is moving the ball everywhere on court in every single point.”
Djokovic is aiming for his sixth ATP Finals title, having won it last in 2015. He is hoping to equal Roger Federer’s record of six wins at the event. Before the start of the event, on Sunday, Djokovic was presented with a trophy for ending the year as world number one for the sixth time. Daniil Medvedev and Alexander Zverev would meet later on Monday evening.
In the doubles stage, Joe Salisbury and Rajeev Ram overcame Lukasz Kubot and Marcelo Melo in a game of three sets (7-5 3-6 10-5). Wesley Koolhof and Nikola Mektic won their game against Kevin Krawietz and Andreas Mies in three sets (6-7 7-6 10-7).
Written by: Leon Osamor
