Serbian top seed Novak Djokovic saw off debutant Diego Schwartzman’s challenge with a comfortable win while Russian fourth seed Daniil Medvedev also won an ATP Finals match for the first time with victory over fifth seed Alexander Zverev in the evening session on Monday.
The 33-year-old Serb, in search of his first ATP Finals crown since 2015 was in cruise control as he eased to a 6-3 6-1 victory at the O2 Arena in London.
Medvedev, on the other hand, having lost all group games last season started strongly this term, sealing a 6-3 6-4 win to wrap up the game in straight sets.
This season’s event is being played without spectators as a result of the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic.
This has hindered the usually loud, colourful fanfare around the event in the past seasons, meaning that the London fans have been unable to bid a proper farewell to the event before it moves to Turin next season.
Regardless of the lack of fanfare though, Djokovic still managed to muster up a classy win in what proved to be a high-quality tennis game all round.
The seventeen-time Grand Slam winner might have had his nerves rattling as he lost serve in the third game of the first set, but he settled back quickly to break straight back and held on firmly to see off the game.
Djokovic continued to sustain his level, forcing his opponent into mistakes as he broke twice in the second set for a 4-1 lead, before heading for a straight-sets win lasting an hour and 18 minutes.
“The second set I started swinging through the ball more and with less hesitation,” Djokovic said. “I was very happy with the way I played.”
As for Medvedev, however, it was not as straightforward. His game with Zverev – whom he beat at the Paris Masters final last week – was more of a scrappy, keenly contested one, but he did enough to outlast the German on his way to winning his first group game in London.
“Confidence is key for sure, not only the final against him but winning a Masters always helps,” said 24-year-old Medvedev, who faces Djokovic on Wednesday.
