World No. 1 Novak Djokovic will face the fourth seed Kevin Anderson in the second semifinal of the ATP Finals 2018 with the winner facing up one of Roger Federer or Alexander Zverev.
The Novak Djokovic v Kevin Anderson 2018 ATP Finals semifinal match will be played on Saturday, November 17, at 8:00 pm local time (7:00 pm GMT). Watch the Novak Djokovic v Kevin Anderson live streaming here.
Djokovic v Anderson Head to Head
The two players have crossed paths a total of eight times on the ATP Tour so far. Of those eight instances, the Serbian has been victorious on seven of them. He currently leads the tally with an insurmountable 7-1 lead.
The only time Anderson has managed to defeat Nole was in the 2008 ATP Masters Series Miami. Since then, the Serb has won every single one of their encounters. This season, they have met twice so far – in the final of the Wimbledon and in the quarterfinal of Shanghai Masters. Djokovic won both the matches in straight sets.
Their encounter in the Wimbledon was particularly intriguing, considering that Djokovic was aiming to lift his first singles trophy in more than two years.
Anderson’s Best Year
Anderson, who is playing for the first time at the O2 Arena, arrived at London on the back of a great year. It was the best performance of his career – he reached his career-high singles ranking as the World No. 5 and also reached the final of a Grand Slam for the second time throughout.
The South African has won two titles this season – ATP Vienna and ATP New York and in addition to this, he was also the runner-up on three distinct occasions. He lost in the final at ATP Pune, ATP Acapulco, and at the SW 19. Nonetheless, he was a part of the top 10 throughout the season and eventually moved up to reach the World No. 6 position.
Anderson continued to reach new heights in the second half of the season as well. He reached the semifinals at the Rogers Cup and was also a quarter-finalist at ATP Tokyo and Shanghai Masters.
In London, he finished at the second place in the Group Lleyton Hewitt with 2-1. His sole defeat came against Roger Federer. As for his other two robin-round matches against Dominic Thiem and Kei Nishikori, he won both of them in straight sets.
Djokovic’s Ruthless Form in London
The reigning US Open champion topped the Guga Kuerten Group with three, straight-set victories against the likes of Alexander Zverev, Marin Cilic, and John Isner. Djokovic has been highly efficient throughout the tournament. In all of his three matches, the Serb kept his unforced errors count at less than 15. Not only was this, but his first service win-rate on average well above 80%.
He has been absolutely clinical since he won the Wimbledon title earlier this year. After winning at the SW 19, he proceeded to win the Cincinnati Masters, US Open and Shanghai Masters. He almost won the Paris Masters as well but lost in the final to Karen Khachanov. In other words, he accumulated more than 6,500 ranking points in a matter of four months.
Needless to mention, there has been a massive turnaround in his form in the second half of the season. In the first half of the year, he struggled to move past the early rounds in many tournaments. For instance, he lost his opening game at the Indian Wells to Taro Daniel and incurred a similar defeat at the Miami Masters to Benoit Paire.
However, it is also quite impressive to note that Nole started his season outside the top 10 and proceeded to move out of the top 20, only to reclaim the No. 1 throne eventually. This cinematic thriller is now in its final reel with the Serbian aiming for his fifth Finals title in London.
Djokovic v Anderson – Who will Reach the Final?
Considering their recent form, there is no doubt in the fact that Djokovic will start this match as the favorite. He is coming in this game with a great deal of momentum, sailing high on confidence. His 7-1 lead over Anderson also gives him an extra edge to reach the final in London. However, he has incurred shocking losses earlier this season and that can very well be the case here as well. Whatever may be the case, we can expect a quality game here.
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