WORLD number one Novak Djokovic has clinched the final available spot in the final four of the ATP Finals with a straight sets win over German Alexander Zverev. Daniil Medvedev is the other member of the Tokyo group advancing to the semi-finals. He concluded his round robin matches with a straight sets victory over Argentine Diego Schwartzman.

Medvedev will take on superstar world number two Rafael Nadal in his semi-final, while Djokovic will come up against 2020 US Open champion Dominic Thiem. Both matches will take place tomorrow morning.

Novak Djokovic (SRB) defeated Alexander Zverev (GER) 6-3 7-6

Djokovic was able to attain his 41st win for the year against Zverev, a record only equalled in 2020 by Russian Andrey Rublev. The Serbian only broke Zverev’s serve once for the entire match, but that was enough for him to get over the line. Djokovic has an unbelievable tie-break record of 15-1 this season, with his only tie-break loss coming against Kyle Edmund at the US Open. Zverev’s season ends with a 27-9 record and two consecutive ATP titles in Cologne.

Djokovic has a 7-4 winning record over Thiem heading into their clash. After the win, Djokovic praised his upcoming opponent’s willingness to improve his game and said their match should be an entertaining encounter.

“Obviously earlier in his career [Dominic] played his best on clay, but of course being one of the hardest workers on the tour and most dedicated players, Dominic found his ‘A game’ on all other surfaces,” Djokovic said. “His first [Grand] Slam [title] came on hard courts earlier this year in New York. I played him last year here and lost 7-6 in the third set, it was really a thrilling match. Hopefully we can have another great match, but hopefully this time with another outcome.”

Daniil Medvedev (RUS) defeated Diego Schwartzman (ARG) 6-3 6-3

Medvedev moved to 3-0 at the ATP Finals with his comfortable victory over Schwartzman. This is a major turnaround from last year’s tournament, where he went winless in his ATP Finals debut. He won 88 per cent of points on first serve and broke his opponent three times in the clash. For Schwartzman, the loss concludes arguably the strongest season of his career so far. He had a 25-15 record, rose into the top ten for the first time and made the final at three tournaments, including the ATP Masters 1000 in Rome.

Medvedev said that although the match with Schwartzman was a dead rubber, getting the win was important ahead of his semi-final.

“I think it is always good to stay undefeated for the confidence,” he said. “I wanted to win the match, so I am really happy that I have done it; I was serving really good today, so that helped me a lot throughout all the match.”

Although the Russian has a 0-3 record against Nadal, he showed in the 2019 US Open final that he has the ability to challenge the 20-time Grand Slam champion. The 24-year-old said he looked forward to the match.

“I like playing all of the [Big] Three,” he said. “When I was so young, starting to hold the racquet and just started to be interested in tennis… I started to see Grand Slams. First it was Roger winning everything, then Rafa came and started to make his mark and then it was Novak. It is a great pleasure to play against all of them and I am really looking forward to tomorrow.”

Picture: Ella Ling/ATP Tour