OTHER COUNTRIES

Casper Ruud v Novak Djokovic: ATP Finals title decider – live

Key events

Ruud 3-4 Djokovic* Djokovic is serving pretty well here – both players are – but a good backhand from Ruud hauls him in and his sliced volley drops just wide. No matter: an overhead while backpeddling raises game point and an unreturned serve means he leads 4-3. Neither man is making much impression on the other’s serve currently.

*Ruud 3-3 Djokovic Ruud looks not unlike a McGann brother, and in the time it takes me to find that photo, he races to 40-0 before whamming a backhand winner down the line, hs new, more open racket-face making the difference.

Photograph: Pictorial Press Ltd/Alamy

Ruud 2-3 Djokovic* A terrific game from Djokovic, forcing the issue . He makes 40-0 with a fine volley at the net, then ends things with an ace. He’s shaking a little bit at change of ends, though, as he did against Medvedev the other day – he doesn’t quite look himself.

*Ruud 2-2 Djokovic Djokovic stretches for a volley and hurts his leg or knee as Ruud makes 15-0; a big serve follows for 30-0, then Djokovic swipes a return wide and another long. He’s not constructing points currently, rather trying to finish them.

Ruud 1-2 Djokovic* Djokovic spanks a forehand wide for 0-15 then, after a long, 25-stroke rally, he tries to finish it with a drop and nets! Djokovic, though, is getting his second serve going, and it helps him to 15-30, followed by a big first go out wide for 30-all. Another good first serve, down the T, makes 40-30, then a clean ace swerving away, and that’s four straight points quicksmart.

Updated at 13.29 EST

*Ruud 1-1 Djokovic at 15-0, we rally cross-court, backhand to backhand, then Djokovic punishes one down the line with glorious disguise for another clean winner. Then, when Ruud comes in, he can’t find a stop volley when the ball’s fired at him, his effort looping long – he’s yet to find a first serve – then he goes long again so now faces two break points. Again, he misses his first serve and Djokovic goes for it with a backhand down the line – he ought to make it too, but doesn’t – then a forehand earns Ruud deuce and he closes out really well. He’s into the match now.

Here we go!
Here we go! Photograph: Marco Bertorello/AFP/Getty Images

Updated at 13.40 EST

Ruud 0-1 Djokovic* Djokovic nets a backhand for 0-15, but a netted forehand return gives him 15-all. An ace out wide follows – Ruud challenges fruitlessly – then can’t capitalise on a slow, kicking second serve, catching the a net cord that flicks the ball wide. A backhand winner down the line then ends the game, and Djokovic looks as strong as expected.

Updated at 13.29 EST

Righto, off we go!

He also thinks Ruud shouldn’t drop serve. I agree, I think dropping serve would be a poor tactic.

Zlatan Ibrahimovic is in the crowd; Greg Rusedski is pleased because he’s “obviously an AC Milan supporter”. Obviously.

Aurelie Tourte is umpiring – the first woman to preside over the final of this competition, so mazal tov to her. Djokovic wins the toss and will serve.

It is with deep regret that I tell you Djokovic is again wearing green that doesn’t match, with white socks and green Asics trainers. All that bunce, and for what?

Here come our players!

Mark Petchey points out that Ruud’s made huge improvements to his second serve this year, and he’s sending opponents out wide more often now, which allows him to get his big forehand into play sooner.

Djokovic has won this title five times, as have Ivan Lendl and Pete Sampras. A win here takes him level with Roger Federer at the top of the roll of honour.

Aha, the telly coverage has started. Good.

I’ve just experienced a sugar craving, and in the absence from my home of anything I’d prefer, sneaked myself a Fruit Pastille ice lolly without my nine-year-old noticing. Ruud will need to show enterprise and daring of that ilk if he’s to win tonight.

Back to Ruud, at 23 he’s got lots of time to improve. It’s just hard to see how develops the weapons that mean he can win finals against players that already have them.

On the other hand…

Casper Ruud has reached the final in four of the seven biggest events in the calendar this year: French Open, US Open, ATP Finals, Miami.

A pretty incredible achievement for someone who started the season without a single slam QF to his name.

— Tumaini Carayol (@tumcarayol) November 19, 2022

Calvin Betton, our resident coach, emails in with his thoughts: “It’s a dull match up. Ruud is basically a C-list Djokovic. Competes great, makes a lot of balls, moves well. But Djokovic is better at every aspect, and I can’t see him not winning.”

Also going on…

Ruud strikes me as one of those players who’ll never be quite good enough to win a slam, because there’ll always be someone better – whether someone like Alcaraz, so someone with more ability, or someone random who happens to find the form of their life at the right time.

So, what on earth can Ruud do to beat Djokovic? Er, I don’t know. I guess he could follow the Stan v Nadal approach, which is attacking everything and hoping it’s his day. Or, conversely, Djokovic is principally a defensive payer, so if Ruud just gets everything back and tries to play to his backhand, maybe that works. Or maybe not.

Preamble

I don’t want to get previous, people, but might we be at that point? You know the one I mean because we always suspected we’d get to to it eventually and it’s been teased for what seems like a decade, so: has Novak Djokovic outlasted the other two members of the big three? And if he has, is he going to spend the next couple of years monstering everyone and everything?

You can’t say he hasn’t worked for it. I remember hearing, quite some years ago, that every spare second – waiting for a cab, after a meal, speaking on the phone – he stretches to keep himself supple. It’s drive like that that means even at 36, I’d still back him to win any match.

Which isn’t to say we should write-off Rafael Nadal, who is to comebacks as a Tory administration is to U-turns. He’s probably got at least one more French Open in him, but it’s hard to see him taking any other majors and it wasn’t especially surprising that he didn’t escape the group in this tournament.

But that’s only the half of things. Worthy though Casper Ruud – and Stefanos Tsitsipas, and Felix Auger-Aliassime, and Taylor Fritz, and Andrey Rublev and Carlos Alcaraz and even Daniil Medvedev – are, none of them will ever be the greatest player we’ve ever seen, which is the standard at which Djokovic has been competing for the past aeon.

Which isn’t to say that Ruud, currently 0-3 in the head-to-head, can’t win tonight – he can. But for that to happen, he needs to produce close to his best tennis, while Djokovic needs to produce close to his worst – and both men know it. We shall see.

Start: 7pm local, 6pm GMT

Source link

Related Articles

Leave a Reply

Back to top button

Adblock Detected

Please turn off the ad blocker & refresh this page again to access the content.