14:40
Novak Djokovic *3-3 Diego Schwartzman. That was some hold. Djokovic was swarming at 30-30 after grinding Schwartzman’s forehand down by initiating another long, exhausting rally. Schwartzman responded at 30-30 by finding a first serve and stepping in to crunch the following forehand. With an excellent serve down the T on game point, he punched another game on the board.
14:33
Novak Djokovic 3-2* Diego Schwartzman. No problems on serve for Djokovic this time. He eases through a second love hold of the afternoon, closing it off with a really nice forehand drop volley after a searing inside-out forehand.
14:31
Novak Djokovic *2-2 Diego Schwartzman. A very solid Djokovic breaks straight back. This time, a loose service game from Schwartzman who threw in a limp double fault of his own at 15-30. After Schwartzman saved the first break point, the pair had one of their first extended exchanges, with Djokovic grinding out a Schwartzman forehand error with a nice injection of width.
These are two of the best returners in the business so breaks are not at all surprising.
14:26
Novak Djokovic 1-2* Diego Schwartzman. A brilliant start from Schwartzman, who snatches the first break to move into the lead. Djokovic produced a poor service game, throwing in a double fault at 0-15 and then a loose forehand error at 15-30. He saved the first break point well but the Argentine drew him into the net with a wicked, short backhand slice before picking him off with a forehand down-the-line passing shot. Very well done.
14:22
Novak Djokovic *1-1 Diego Schwartzman. A great start from Schwartzman, who tended to any opening nerves with a slick hold to 15. From 30-15, he moved Djokovic around with his forehand, eventually dragging him off the court with a great crosscourt forehand. Djokovic gave up a loose backhand error on game point.
14:17
Novak Djokovic 1-0* Diego Schwartzman. Djokovic strolls through an easy opening hold to love, finding his first serve well and dismounting with an ace down the T. A sweet start.
14:10
The players are out on-court. Diego Schwartzman wins the toss and elects to receive first.
14:07
Diego Schwartzman since the tour resumed:
Cincinnati R2
US Open R1 (after leading two sets versus Cameron Norrie)
Kitzbuhel QF (with a bye)
—
Rome F
Roland Garros SF
Cologne F
Paris QF
14:03
Novak Djokovic’s Win-Loss record in opening matches at the ATP Finals: 11-1
13:59
Preamble
Hello! Welcome to our coverage on day two of the ATP Finals at the O2 Arena. After Rafael Nadal’s efficient first win against Andrey Rublev yesterday, top seed Novak Djokovic will be looking to match his old rival here as he faces debutant Diego Schwartzman.
Djokovic starts as the heavy favourite. He leads the head-to-head 5-0 against Schwartzman and the Argentine has never won a set against him on hard courts.
Still, what a moment this is for the diminutive Argentine. A few months ago in September, he returned from the tour break in dire form, losing to Britain’s Cameron Norrie in the opening round of the US Open from two sets up. It wasn’t until he arrived in Rome and faced Rafael Nadal in the quarterfinals that he came alive.
After registering his first win ever against Nadal, he reached the final in Rome and then took his momentum into Roland Garros where he reached his first slam semi-final. While some players have struggled in these strange times, Schwartzman has produceed the best tennis of his career to reach the top 10 for the first time aged 28. We’ll see if he can pull off a surprise today.