World number 2 Novak Djokovic on Saturday defeated world number 5 Daniil Medvedev 6-1, 5-7, 6-4 to take Serbia to the final of the inaugural edition of the ATP Cup.
WHAT A MATCH!@DjokerNole sends #TeamSerbia into the final of the #ATPCup! pic.twitter.com/PKdtfBM1Kg
— ATP Tour (@atptour) January 11, 2020
“Exciting, exhausting, joyful, dreadful all at once. At one point we both refused to miss from baseline, so it was a lot of rallies and it was very exhausting. Very physical battle, but also mental battle,” Djokovic said as quoted by ATP Tour’s official website.
“He showed why he’s one of the best players in the world, why he’s Top 5. This kind of consistency and this kind of solid game from back of the court, big serves got him to where he is. He deserves to be there.
“Definitely one of the most exciting matches I have played against him or any other top player last few years,” he added.
Earlier, Djokovic had edged ahead of Canadian Dennis Shapovalov 4-6, 6-1, 7-6 (7-4) in the quarterfinals.
The stress of the game saw Shapovalov issued with a code violation for swearing at the crowd, which became rowdy and required a reprimand from chair umpire, Carlos Bernardes.