Djokovic defeats Nadal to force decisive doubles in ATP Cup final

After Roberto Bautista defeated Dusan Lajovic in the first matchup of the final tie at the ATP Cup, Djokovic had to win in order to keep hopes for his country alive. On the other hand, Nadal could push his country towards the title at the inaugural tournament.

Nadal started the match on service, but not successfully. Djokovic broke his first service game to earn an important advantage in the first set. The Serbian added one more break in the first set while he did not allow his opponent to have a single breakpoint. Novak got a step closer to leveling the score after winning the first set 6-2.

However, in the second set, it was Nadal who first had breakpoints. In the sixth game, he had 5 opportunities to take his opponent's service but he did not manage to do so. On the other hand, Djokovic could earn a 6-5 lead when he was 40-15 up on Nadal's serve in the 11th game. But he also did not convert his breakpoints and so tie-break had to decide.

In the tie-break, Djokovic kept his nerves and won it 7-4 to earn the first point for his country. After Djokovic's victory, the score of the tie is 1-1 and so doubles will decide about the first ATP Cup Champion. If coaches won't change nominations, Djokovic & Troicki will be facing Carreno-Busta & Nadal in doubles.

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