Atp Finals, Djokovic beats Tsitsipas in the red group

A steamroller. Novak Djokovic does fast and well against Stefanos Tsitsipas 6-4 7-6 and settles at the top of the red group, canceling the Greek’s hopes of ending the season at number 1 in the world. Stefanos, who last year had to leave Turin prematurely to run in Switzerland to have surgery on his right elbow, could only have climbed to the top of the standings by winning the tournament undefeated. Break in the opening for the Djoker who keeps the advantage and wins the first set. He decides the tie break of the second set with two errors in his batting rounds that send Nole at 4-1. Tsitsipas manages to recover and get back to 5-4 but he is the former number 1 to serve for the match and close with an ace in an hour and 37 minutes amid applause, including those of Massimiliano Allegri, guest of Djokovic’s box. The Serbian’s next match will be Thursday against Andrey Rublev who beat Daniil Medvedev in the afternoon.

Desire for revenge

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The Serbian, winner of Wimbledon (but without points), still managed to qualify for eighth place in the Race without taking advantage of the rule that allows Grand Slam winners to qualify for the Finals by closing the season in the top 20, is certainly the most motivated of the group . Nole, stopped for most of 2022 by the decision not to get vaccinated against Covid, has said several times that he felt humiliated by the exclusion, especially from the Australian Open, the Grand Slam he was aiming to win for the tenth time. Djokovic’s goal is to erase his bad memories by closing with the title of Masters, the sixth of his career, equaling Federer. “Thank you Italy for the welcome, you are always in my heart – says the champion in Italian, sparking the enthusiasm of the Pala Alpitour -. I really want to win. I knew that he had a very good service, but I manage with the reply…”.