Novak Djokovic overcame a first set tiebreak loss to crush Dominic Thiem 6-7 (10), 6-0, 6-2 in the opening match of the ATP World Tour Finals.
Thiem wins marathon opening set tiebreak to take the lead
Leading 2-1, Djokovic had the first break chance of the match, but Thiem saved it well. That was one of four games that went to deuce in the first set and now the Austrian had his chance in the eleventh game, but Djokovic saved it. The set was headed to a tiebreaker and once there, Thiem jumped out to a quick lead at 2-1, but Djokovic pulled the mini-break back. The Austrian again went up a minibreak and held a 6-3 lead, but wasted all three of his set points. After saving a set point at 9-8 down, Thiem finally slammed the door on the set after taking an 11-10 lead on a Djokovic forehand miss when on the next point, he blasted a forehand winner down the line to finally wrap up the opening set.
Djokovic responds with near perfect second set to level the match
The second set was the complete opposite of the first set as Djokovic dominated from start to finish, breaking Thiem all three times he served to 30. The Austrian never had a game point in the set and could muster just 10 points total. The Serb was a perfect 3/3 on break point opportunities and needed just one set point to send the match to a deciding third set.
Djokovic takes quick lead, pads cushion late to close out opening match win
After each man held to begin the final set, Djokovic made his move, breaking Thiem in the third game for a 2-1 lead. Neither man would face real trouble again until the seventh game when Djokovic secured an insurance break for a 5-2 lead. He proceeded to close the match out in the next game, serving it out to 15 for a come-from-behind opening win.