Novak Djokovic is one win away from securing the year-end No1 ranking after the Serb destroyed Stan Wawrinka in the ATP World Tour Finals last night.
The defending champion was at his devastating best as he subjected Wawrinka to a 6-3, 6-0 defeat in the second round of Group A action.
Wawrinka had a promising start, breaking Djokovic’s serve and holding for a 2-0 lead. But the world No1 struck back and ran away with the next five consecutive games and would lose just one game until the end of the contest.
Djokovic has now dropped a mere five games in his opening two matches and will be guaranteed a place in the semi-finals with a win over Tomas Berdych on Friday.
Earlier in the day, Berdych put his poor start to the Tour Finals behind him by defeating Marin Cilic in another one-sided clash.
The pair lost their opening matches 6-1, 6-1, with Berdych beaten by Wawrinka and Cilic losing to Djokovic in the joint heaviest defeats since the tournament moved to London in 2009.
Berdych showed much improved form yesterday afternoon but US Open champion Cilic was still well below his best and succumbed 6-3, 6-1.
This was revenge for Berdych, who lost to Cilic both at Wimbledon and during the Croatian’s stunning run in New York, which saw him beat Berdych, Roger Federer and Kei Nishikori all in straight sets en route to the title.
But the Cilic of New York has been nowhere to be seen in London.
Despite the easy win, Berdych still feels there is more to come, saying: “I felt much better on the court. But still it was not one of my best. But I think that’s the beauty of this event. One day you can be swept out from the court like I was, and in two days’ time you can come up and you can play different tennis.”
