Novak Djokovic only needed a set. The Serb No. 1 rarely settles for less than two, though, especially against one of his favorite opponents.
Djokovic reached the semifinals of the ATP World Tour Finals by extending his dominance over Tomas Berdych, beating the Czech player 6-3, 7-5 on Thursday in their last round-robin match and stay on course for a fourth straight title.
Under the tournament’s tiebreaker rules, Djokovic would have advanced even if he lost in three sets, which would have left both players with a 1-2 record. That meant there was little left to play for after he broke for a 5-3 lead in the first and then served out the set.
Djokovic didn’t let up, though, breaking for 6-5 in the second and improving his career record against Berdych to 21-2. He has beaten the Czech five times in the last six years at the ATP finals.
That history might have given Djokovic an edge on the key points at the O2 Arena, he said.
“I know that because I’ve had many close matches with him, because I’ve won so many times against him, maybe there is this factor of a mental edge,” Djokovic said, “maybe an advantage in important moments, decisive moments where I’m able to stick around and stay tough and believe that I can actually win.”
Nadal stays unbeaten
Rafael Nadal outlasted David Ferrer 6-7 (2), 6-3, 6-4 Friday to finish the group stage unbeaten at the ATP World Tour Finals.
Neither player had much at stake as Nadal had already clinched first place in the group and Ferrer had been eliminated, but the two baseline sluggers still went at it relentlessly full of heavy hitting and long rallies.
Nadal earned the decisive break to go up 5-4 in the third set — having previously wasted five break points in a marathon first game of the decider — and sealed victory with a backhand volley winner.