By Leobert Julian A. de la Peña
World No. 2 Novak Djokovic of Serbia outlasted top seed Rafael Nadal, 6-2, 7-6, in one of the most thrilling finals in ATP Cup history.
Aiming for a big 2020 start, the Serbian slugger came in firing powerful forehands and attacked the net consistently putting pressure on Nadal.
The unpredictable offensive approach by Djokovic kept Nadal waiting on the baseline and dwell in the rally game, a mistake that allowed Djokovic a comfortable approach going into the net.
After a convincing 6-2 first set in favor of Djokovic, the Spaniard star then controlled the early part of the second set as he gained his rhythm to punish the Serbian in numerous exchanges.
Djokovic then relied on his tremendous baseline defense that held Nadal to a tiebreaker last set where Djokovic edged him by just a point.
The win boosted Djokovic in his strong 2020 Australian open campaign in which he hasn’t won in a long time since his series of injuries.
