World Tour Finals – Day 6

Group A – third round

(alt.)Janko Tipsarevic d. (1)Novak Djokovic           3-6, 6-3, 6-3                    [ 2:07 h ]

The stake of this match was unusual, Djokovic would have won it and didn’t qualify, he would have lost it and qualify, because he knew the last match at the group stage between Berdych and Ferrer would be crucial. In these circumstances a more eager player was the older of two Serbs, for whom it was not only a unique opportunity to beat a No. 1 in the world for the first time in career, but also to get a better check (for a multimillionaire like D’Joke, additional 120,000$ doesn’t make a significant difference). The best player of the season is visibly out of gas and suffers lack of enjoyment, he was broken twice in both losing sets, and actually only once in the entire match showed a positive emotion (it was at *3:4 ‘deuce’ in the 2nd set when he had still a decent prospect to win it in straight sets). “I had an unbelievable year,” comments Djokovic,  “Nothing can really ruin that. I will always remember this year as the best of my life. I just want to prepare well for 2012.”

(7)Tomas Berdych d.  (5)David Ferrer                      3-6, 7-5, 6-1                      [ 2:07 h ]

The Spaniard was playing almost a perfect match through a set and a half, but is he really so good to win a group in such an impressive style on his third/fourth favorite surface? He isn’t, and his dream week came to an end as he led *4:3 (40-15) in the 2nd set. He made two unforced errors then from the baseline and the momentum completely shifted – the Czech won 10 out of the next 12 games and finished the group on the first place despite a worse win/loss ratio in sets than Ferrer. Perhaps it’s good for the tournament because Djokovic, who is out of form, was five points away from advancing to the semi-finals although he suffered two defeats at the group stage. “I think I was playing good the first set, and [then in] the middle of the second maybe at 4-3, 40/15, I didn’t serve really well,” admitted Ferrer. “I served very badly and I played my shots very short. In the third set, he was playing with more confidence.”

1. Berdych 2-1… 5-3
2. Ferrer 2-1… 5-2
3. Djokovic 1-2… 3-5
4. Tipsarevic 1-1… 3-3
5. Murray 0-1… 0-2

Doubles results:
(7)J.Melzer/P.Petzschner d. (6)R.Lindstedt/H.Tecau 6-3, 6-4
(4)M.Bhupathi/L.Paes d. (1)B.Bryan/M.Bryan 6-4, 6-2

1. Bhupathi/Paes 2-1… 4-2
2. Bryan/Bryan 2-1… 4-3
3. Melzer/Petzschner 1-2… 3-4
4. Lindstedt/Tecau 1-2… 2-4