Djokovic thrashes debutant Schwartzman at ATP Finals

London, November 16

Diego Schwartzman suffered a similar fate to fellow ATP Finals debutant Andrey Rublev the previous night as the Argentine was brushed aside by five-time champion Novak Djokovic on Monday.

Russian Rublev barely laid a glove on 20-time Grand Slam champion Rafa Nadal during a straight sets loss and Schwartzman looked equally powerless to prevent a sixth loss from six meetings with the clinical Djokovic, subsiding 6-3 6-2.

The Serb dropped his serve early on at the virtually empty O2 Arena, where on Sunday he was presented with the ATP’s end-of-year No. 1 award for a record-equalling sixth time.

But from that moment on he was immaculate.

He broke back immediately and then pounced again when Schartzman served at 3-4, outmanoeuvring his opponent before pummelling away a forehand winner into the corner.

With no fans in the 18,000 arena to rally to the Argentine’s underdog cause, world No. 9 Schwartzman never looked capable of turning the opening Tokyo Group match into a contest.

Djokovic secured two breaks in the second set and clinched victory with a minimum of fuss.

“I was very happy the way I played in the second set when I started swinging through the ball,” Djokovic said on court.

“It was close I think until I broke at 4-3. It was tough for Diego, first match in the arena he maybe wasn’t playing his best in the closing moments of the first set.”

The 33-year-old world No. 1 is bidding to win the title for the first time since 2015 and equal Roger Federer’s six. Reuters