make a fist Novak Djokovic because it is already in the final. An impeccable end of the course, another one, waiting for the last task, this Sunday against Ruud or Rublev. The Serbian has another of the records of his staunchest rivals (Nadal and Federer) that he set out to destroy: Federer’s six master’s degrees. At the moment, he has five, but with very good feelings towards the sixth, with which to emulate the Swiss.
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| 7 | 7 |
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| 6 | 6 |
Fly this Djokovic even in difficulties. He looked physically brittle against Daniil Medvedev, but he knew how to endure more than the Russian, volatile since he reached the top of the world. But against Fritz, a bone that has had a great time this Masters Cup, which he came to on the rebound due to the loss of Carlos Alcaraz, Djokovic was the most impenetrable.
There were holes through which the American giant slipped, who has grown a lot this week and who is already observed with enough maturity and temperance, nothing to do with the one who won a set and lost in the second. But Djokovic has to be knocked down several times if you want to beat him. Especially on this fast track and indoors where his right has been infallible: a 9’2 note The organization scores it by adding aspects such as speed, effectiveness, bite. And he was stronger with this forehand than the best backhand of the tournament, the one that propelled Fritz to this semifinal and the one that took him to two tie breaks.
If this Djokovic is the leader of number 1 weeks, the one who wants to attack that ATP watchtower sooner rather than later, the one who wants to emulate, for the moment, Federer in this Masters Cup, it is because he has enormous tennis and a privileged head. He demonstrated it once again in Turin, in that second set in which he escaped due to his own mistakes and due to a Fritz quality and trust step after losing the first set on the wire. The American was going fast, even losing a first service turn that he recovered at the first opportunity that he won and that Djokovic also granted him. And he emboldened himself to 5-3, one game away, the rest, from taking the semifinal to a third chapter.
But there, the best Djokovic. Eyes fixed on the ball, conscientious backhand and impeccable forehand. He depleted the American’s reserves of the break and took a toll on his confidence. Second tie break of the match, but with changed airs now: Djokovic unstoppable, Fritz trapped. He shouted the 9th in the world after a spectacular point in which he saved himself from six lashes from Djokovic. But the Serbian, cold as ice, let go, let him scream, let him breathe… barely a point. The next, his was the serve and the first match point. He made a mistake, even the coldest ones thaw at some point; but he gained another option from the rest and there Fritz got rid of everything.
Djokovic adds his eighth Masters Cup final, he has won five: against Davydenko (2008), against Federer (2012, 2014 and 2015), against Nadal (2013). Lost in 2016, against Murray, and in 2018, against Zverev.
