More tennis action is set to come our way as we are progressing in the ongoing Nitto ATP Finals, where we’ve seen some interesting developments over these past few days.
Stefanos Tsitipas, Alexander Zverev, and Dominic Thiem have made the headlines in our Nitto ATP Finals news after notching key wins against their much-favoured rivals in the round-robin stage.
On the other hand, the Big 3 have struggled a bit after losing in their respective matches, but they are expected to bounce back big time soon.
The race at the top continues to heat up as all of these players will vie for the whopping $9-M prize money and some bragging rights for being called the world’s best.
As always, SBOBET is here to give you a quick recap on some of the tournament’s notable matches.
Dominic Thiem on a tear
In just a span of two days, Dominic Thiem did the unthinkable by defeating two-thirds of the Big 3 in Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic.
The Austrian sensation showed no fear even if his Nitto ATP Finals 2019 odds did not favour him to make it to the next round when he was pitted against them in the Bjorn Borg group.
Thiem was able to dispatch Federer once again, 7-5, 7-5, after defeating him twice already in the Madrid Masters and in the Indian Wells Finals.
He managed to break away in two consecutive sets when Federer had levelled each time. Thiem’s no-nonsense and aggressive approach made sure that he took advantage of his opponent’s errors when it happened.
His next match against Novak Djokovic was a different story altogether, albeit the same ending. The Austrian rallied from 1/4 down in the third-set tie-break to notch a victory against him for the first time in the hardcourt, 6-7(5), 6-3, 7-6(5).
Prior to the match, Djokovic had been 3-0 against Thiem and he let out a strong performance in the first set. However, the 26-year-old unleashed a brilliant run in the succeeding sets using his strong backhands and crosscourt forehands to overwhelm the Serbian’s defence.
“I thought he deserved to win. He just played very courageous tennis and [was] just smacking the ball. He went for broke. The entire match he played the same way he played the last point. I have to put my hat down and congratulate him because he just played a great match,” noted Djokovic regarding Thiem’s performance.
These back-to-back wins have sealed Thiem’s berth in the semis, and the chase for the final spot at the Bjorn Borg group suddenly became much more complicated.
Matteo Berrettini dealt with a tough hand
Matteo Berrettini made quite an impression for himself when he grabbed a spot at the Nitto ATP Finals. However, the prospect of going up against the world’s best in the year-end tournament may have overwhelmed the young upstart.
“For sure I didn’t expect to be here at the beginning of the season, even a few months ago. I didn’t expect to be here this early in my career, but what can I say? I’m happy,” said Berrettini upon making it to the Nitto ATP Finals.
The Italian’s first two matches in the Bjorn Borg group were against Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer where he lost in consecutive sets. After losing handily to Djokovic, Berrettini fared much better against Federer on his second match.
The Italian star put up a valiant effort in the first set when Federer earned the lone breakpoint at 6-5. However, Federer’s shrewd play prevented Berrettini to convert on his chances.
Federer broke Berrettini to love in the opening game of the second set and continued to ride his momentum from there. The latter’s slice forehand found the net in the next game which sealed Federer’s first victory of the tournament.
The Big 3 scrambling for spots at the semis
Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, and Novak Djokovic will all look to book their Final Four berths as they continue their journey in the tournament’s group stages.
Rafael Nadal looks to be in much better shape after suffering from an apparent abdominal injury. He’ll get to face the young upstarts in Daniil Medvedev and Stefanos Tsitsipas to round out his matches in the Andre Agassi group.
Meanwhile, Roger Federer is slated to go up against Novak Djokovic in their final group stage match, which will determine the second semi-finalist from the Bjorn Borg group after Dominic Thiem had officially advanced.
Federer isn’t shying away from the opportunity to avenge his previous loss against Djokovic. This much-awaited match will be the first time since they played in the longest Wimbledon final in history (four hours, 57 minutes) where the Serbian has won. The Swiss player is currently 2-3 against Djokovic in their Nitto ATP Finals head-to-heads.
“I’m excited [to be] playing against him. I’m excited to see how he’s going to play tonight, as well. It’s definitely going to give me some more information about what to expect,” said Federer.
Nadal’s match against Medvedev will happen later at 10pm, while the game between Federer and Djokovic is set on November 15th.
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