World number two, Novak Djokovic arrived in London with self-belief not dropping a single set in Paris where he won his 34th Masters title last Sunday beating Canadian Denis Shapovalov in a final that lasted only 65 minutes. The victory lifted him to within 640 points of Nadal at the top of the ATP rankings. The Serb faced debutant Matteo Berrettini – the first Italian to reach the finals. Berrettini moved up from 54 in the world winning a Challenger title in Arizona in March to squeeze into this elite lineup, with his run to the semi-finals of the US Open in September his most notable achievement of the year.
The Björn Borg group kicked off the tournament yesterday. Djokovic was in business mode from the start; he played top quality tennis, excellent shots and unbelievable returns as he dispatched the new man in just over an hour – straight sets (6-2, 6-1). The Italian admitted to some nerves after the game which was unlike him once he got on the tennis court.
The second game between Roger Federer and Dominic Thiem was much closer. The Swiss master was bidding for his seventh title in London and his first since 2011. The expectation was high and the match itself lived up to it with the quality on display. Federer finished with more winners than unforced errors (24/22), but the Swiss wasn’t able to hang with Thiem at the end of each set, with the Austrian raising his level with some punishing forehands as he dictated the majority of crucial points. Federer had the chance to force a second set tiebreak as Thiem served for the match, but he couldn’t convert two break points as the Austrian completed a straight sets victory to get his ATP Finals campaign off to a winning start for the first time.
Roger Federer will now turn his attention to a must-win clash with Matteo Berrettini. Both players need to prevail to keep their campaign alive after losing their opening games. Novak Djokovic will go on to face Dominic Thiem on Tuesday in his next Group Björn Borg match, with the winner set to go a long way in securing their spot in the semi-finals.
Group Andre Agassi open its account today; Daniil Medvedev takes on Stefano Tsitsipas and World number one Rafa Nadal has AlexanderZverev to contend with it in the second game of day.