Tuesday Preview: Federer Looks To Bounce Back, Djokovic Continues No. 1 Push

Roger Federer has failed to advance to the semi-finals at the Nitto ATP Finals just once in 16 previous appearances. But if the Swiss wants to avoid putting in jeopardy his hopes this year, he will have to put forth a strong performance on Tuesday against first-time qualifier Matteo Berrettini. In the evening singles match, Novak Djokovic and Dominic Thiem battle to stay undefeated in Group Bjorn Borg play.

Federer, who lost his opening round-robin match at The O2 for the second consecutive year on Sunday, knows there is little margin for error now. The Swiss needs to bounce back after dropping his third straight match against Thiem.

“It’s a normal tournament from here on forward. Not allowed to lose anymore,” Federer said. “That’s how it is every week of the year for the past 20 years, so from that standpoint there is nothing new there.”

Federer played Berrettini for the first time in their FedEx ATP Head2Head series at Wimbledon this year, losing just five games in a 74-minute victory in the fourth round. But the Italian has since cracked the Top 10 of the ATP Rankings for the first time, reaching the semi-finals at the US Open, Shanghai and Vienna.

“Matteo, with his serve, with what he can do, obviously any opponent is dangerous here. He didn’t obviously have the best match against Novak. It’s probably also the toughest way to start off the [Nitto ATP] Finals, playing Novak on the indoors, because he rarely has hiccups as well early on in tournaments,” Federer said. “But, yeah, I’ve got to recover, I’ve got to make sure I play better than today, and hopefully I can win that match.”

Djokovic defeated Berrettini 6-2, 6-1 in 64 minutes in the first match of Group Bjorn Borg action. And as the only member of the group who had never competed on this stage before, Berrettini will hope to put his debut behind him and play his best tennis against Federer, a six-time season finale champion.

“For sure I was nervous. First time in the Finals after a great year, so, yeah, I was nervous, but not in a bad way,” Berrettini said. “Normally when I step on the court and I don’t feel nervous, something is wrong. I have to feel nervous to play my best tennis… So just accepting the loss, and for sure I’m looking forward to play the next matches.”

Djokovic and Thiem will look to maintain the momentum from their opening wins, with the potential of clinching a spot in the semi-finals. The Serbian, with Rafael Nadal’s loss to Alexander Zverev Monday evening, now controls his destiny in the battle for year-end No. 1. He is trying to tie Pete Sampras for the most year-end No. 1 finishes with six.

The second seed is also pursuing a record-tying sixth Nitto ATP Finals title. He leads Thiem 6-3 in their FedEx ATP Head2Head series.

“We know how good of a player he is on clay. He’s been proving that he can play equally well on other surfaces,” Djokovic said. “He’s already established [himself as a] Top 5, Top 10 player. We don’t need to talk about his qualities. Quality is great. His dedication and professionalism and hard work ethics is fantastic, and he’s a really nice guy. So all positive things about him.”

Scenarios For Semi-final Qualification In Group Bjorn Borg

Djokovic defeated Thiem here three years ago, overcoming the disappointment of losing a 22-point first-set tie-break to win the next two sets with the loss of just two games. But the Austrian star won their most recent meeting in five sets at Roland Garros earlier this year.

“I think he’s the best right now. He proved that also in Bercy where he didn’t somehow play his best tennis, but still won the title pretty easy, so that’s how good his level is.” Thiem said. “I will watch that match in Roland Garros a little bit, because it was very good, of course. Was also, most of the time, the right tactics I played. Of course it’s not the same here. Was clay outdoor back then and now indoor. But some things I can use, for sure, in the match on Tuesday

“Probably right now it’s the biggest challenge you can face, to play Novak.”

Thiem has proven he can compete on hard courts, winning an ATP Masters 1000 title on the surface this year in Indian Wells and then capturing ATP 500 trophies in Beijing and Vienna. After defeating Federer in two sets Sunday evening, Thiem will have plenty of confidence. But the 26-year-old knows his pursuit of reaching a maiden semi-final at the Nitto ATP Finals on his fourth appearance is far from over.

“The system is pretty brutal, I would say, because I had an amazing victory today. I’m feeling great. I’m feeling now that I have a good chance to reach the semis. But if I lose on Tuesday, for example, everything is completely open again, and I have to worry about everything on the next match on Thursday,” Thiem said. “So the only thing I can do is to rest well tomorrow, practise well, and be fully focussed again on Tuesday.”

Did You Know?
Federer is undefeated in his second round-robin match at the Nitto ATP Finals (16-0). The Swiss has lost a set in those matches five times, but has battled through on each occasion.