Novak Djokovic continued his late season comeback with a quality win over Marin Cilic 7-6(7), 6-2 in his last round robin match of the 2018 ATP World Tour Finals. By sweeping his three matches, he takes the top spot in his half of the draw before moving on to the semi-finals against Kevin Anderson.
Djokovic has reinstated himself atop of the ATP rankings, and is completing what many consider to be the greatest comeback season in the history of men’s tennis. Before Wimbledon, the Serbian was 18-9 in 2018, including 3 consecutive losses at the Australian Open (l. to Hyeon Chung), Indian Wells (l. to Daniel Taro), and Miami Open (l. to Benoit Paire). This saw Djokovic’s ranking fall to number 18 in the world in May – his lowest ranking since 2006.
Since the start of Wimbledon, Djokovic is 34-2 and looking very similar to the ruthless version of himself that dominated the men’s game in 2015 and 2016. He won Wimbledon, the US Open, and became the first player to complete the “Golden Masters” by winning all nine ATP Masters 1000 tournaments with his first title in Cincinnati. His only two losses since Wimbledon came from two young guns on the men’s tour: Greek rising-star Stefano Tsistipas, who was 19 years old when he beat Djokovic at the Canadian Open, and Russian Karen Khachanov in the finals of the Paris Masters.
Djokovic has carried his late season momentum into the end of the year tournament by winning all three matches without dropping a set. In his first round robin match, Djokovic beat the big-serving American, John Isner 6-4, 6-3, and in his second match, overcame German, Alexander “Sasha” Zverev 6-4. 6-1. He is the heavy favorite ahead of his semi-final showdown tomorrow against Kevin Anderson, and is expected to close out his commanding season comeback with a sixth title at the year-end tournament.
Forty Love of Tennis 