Novak Djokovic improved his indoor winning streak to 29-0 with a comfortable win over Stanislas Wawrinka at the ATP Tour Finals on Wednesday.
The three-time season finale winner is one match away from sealing the year-end No. 1 ranking and is close to qualifying for the semi-finals following a 6-3 6-0 win over the third seed- his 12th successive win at the event. The Serb, 27, last lost to countryman Tipsarevic in the final round robin match in 2011.
Having watched his run of 14 consecutive Grand Slam semi finals appearances end at the hands of Wawrinka in the quarter-finals at the Australian Open in January, Djokovic was at his predatory best; closing out the contest in 66 minutes. He improves to a 59-8 match record, which includes triumph in Wimbledon and ATP Masters 1000 titles in Indian Wells, Miami, Rome, and Paris.
“I definitely didn’t expect it, but hoped that I can play this way again and the match result can go this way for me,” said Djokovic.
“Obviously Stan wasn’t feeling his best today, made a lot of unforced errors and had a low percentage of first serves in. On my side, I just played very solid from all over the court.
“I think I covered the court very well, got a lot of balls back, mixed up the pace, got him off the comfort zone. That’s something that was part of my game plan.”
Wawrinka raced into a 2-0 lead at the start of the contest but Djokovic rebounded, clinching 20 of the next 23 points to take a 5-2 lead. He finished off the set in 41 minutes.
Swiss number two Wawrinka won just seven points in the second set as Djokovic clinched his 17th win over a Top 10 opponent having lost just 5.
“After I lost the first two games, obviously I didn’t start so great,” Djokovic explained. “I thought he played very well the first two games. But, again, I wasn’t frustrated. I kept my calm. After that, it was a really amazing performance.”
Djokovic now meets Tomas Berdych, who has won Marin Cilic in his second round robin match in London earlier on Wednesday. A win for the Top seed sees him secure the year-end ATP No. status regardless of what his rival Roger Federer does.
Wawrinka meets Marin Cilic.
