ATP Cup: Novak Djokovic Beats Rafael Nadal To Force Deciding Doubles
The final of the ATP Cup saw an incredible display of mastery skills from Novak Djokovic (Serbia) and Rafael Nadal (Serbia) but the former would force deciding doubles after winning the men's singles in Sydney, Australia.
Djokovic had an offensive start from the opener which he took and battled through a tiebreak in the decider as world number one broke back but won in straight sets, 6-2, 7-6 (4) to lead in Open Era head-to-head count by 29-26.
Both players kept abreast through the decider until Nadal broke ahead for a 5-6 lead when he slammed a forehand groundstroke which Djokovic netted on a forehand return. The Serbian forced a tiebreak serving four aces to even the scores and claimed three straight championship points to emerge as the winner.
"It was really unbelievable," said Djokovic. " The amount of support we got in Brisbane in the group stage and here in Sydney. You guys took it to a new level."
The 16-Grad Slam winner finished last season with a total of titles, extending his major singles titles to number 77 having 34 ATP Tour Masters 1000 titles and 13 ATP Tour 500 titles.
Meanwhile, Nadal has withdrawn from the deciding doubles for the ATP Cup trophy title between Team Serbia and Team Spain, citing a loss of "energy" after playing long against Alex de Minaur in the men's singles semi-final.
He said announcing his withdrawal, "My team-mates played great yesterday. My level of energy is a little lower than usual because I played long yesterday, very long before yesterday, very long in Perth on the last day. It is a team decision and we believe in our team."
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