The last time we saw Novak Djokovic in London he was wearing down Roger Federer in the longest final in Wimbledon’s history. On Sunday he returned and spent a mere 62 minutes opening his campaign to finish the season as the world No 1 for the sixth time.
Less than 24 hours after Matteo Berrettini’s teenage compatriot, Jannik Sinner, edged closer to the game’s significant limelight by winning the NextGen title in Milan, the world No 8 was reminded how tough it is deeper in the jungle when Djokovic took him apart on the banks of the Thames.
The 32-year-old Serb outclassed Berrettini – the first Italian to make the last eight here – in all departments in an opening to the 11th and penultimate Nitto ATP World Tour Finals in London that left the capacity crowd impressed but perhaps frustrated that they did not get more tennis for their money.
Djokovic put in a near-flawless shift to win 6-2, 6-1. His served clicked pleasingly as he won eight from 12 on his first attempt and all eight of his second serves, while Berrettini, one of the Tour’s big hitters, could not put a convincing dent in his defence. Berrettini won fewer than half of his first serves and his unforced errors climbed alarmingly to 28, 20 more than Djokovic.
“It feels great to be back in London,” said Djokovic. “This event has been in this city for 10 years now and there’s a reason for that. It’s a very successful tournament.
“It was not easy for [Berrettini], playing his first World Tour Finals match. I knew he’d be nervous at the beginning. I was fortunate to get the break and after that I started reading his serve better. I managed to play really, really solid throughout the match. I’ve been enjoying the conditions on this court for many years. It’s very suitable to my style of the game.”
It was a game effort by Berrettini, the season’s surprise “newcomer” after a longer-than-usual apprenticeship outside the big time. While he would have been pleased for Sinner, who demolished the combative Australian Alex de Minaur in straight sets on Saturday night, his own disappointment on Sunday was palpable.
Djokovic won the first six points as Berrettini struggled to get on the board. He endeavoured through deuce to hold and it was shaping as a tough afternoon for the tournament debutant in his first match against an opponent who has won the title five times in 12 visits.
Djokovic arrived glowing with self-belief. He didn’t drop a set in Paris, where he won his 34th Masters title by schooling the Canadian Denis Shapovalov in a final that lasted only 65 minutes, and which lifted him to within 640 points of Rafael Nadal at the top of the ATP rankings.
Berrettini, who has risen from 54 in the world when winning a Challenger title in Arizona in March to world No 8 a week ago to squeeze into this elite lineup, stayed with the Serb for 20 minutes before Djokovic broke him twice to take the set.
Berrettini was winning a slugging match early in the second but hit long to go 0-2 down, and, from there to the end, every exchange was a trial with fleeting moments of success for the Italian, a high-grade workout with minor interruptions for the Serb.
Berrettini thrilled the crowd with a break-back in the fifth game and stayed in the fight while his serve was clocking more than 135mph, but he could not hold a roused Djokovic at bay.
Djokovic broke Berrettini for the fifth time and completed the job by tapping a forehand into an empty corner. It was ruthless and ominous. He will take some stopping as he seeks to match Federer’s six Tour Finals trophies, as well as the six end-of-year No 1 rankings achieved by Pete Sampras.
A tournament that began in the Tokyo Metropolitan Art Museum 50 years ago – when Stan Smith beat Rod Laver in the final – has morphed through four iterations into the biggest attraction outside the slams, with sellout crowds in most of the 14 sessions over the seven days in a venue that has Björk, Jack Whitehall and Rod Stewart on its Christmas roster. London will miss its winter tennis fix when the event moves to Turin in 2021, but it is a good time for a change after a decade in the same city.
