Novak Djokovic crushes John Isner in ATP Finals opener

TIL Desk Sports/ Novak Djokovic sent out a warning to his rivals at the ATP Finals on Monday, brushing aside big-serving John Isner 6-4 6-3 to launch his bid for a record-equalling sixth ATP Finals title in style. Earlier, in the same Guga Kuerten group, Alexander Zverev made it six consecutive wins against Marin Cilic in a contest at London’s O2 Arena featuring scores of unforced errors.

World number one Djokovic, though, was playing a different game, appearing little troubled by the howitzers coming off the giant Isner’s racquet — breaking his opponent three times and not conceding a single break point on his own serve.

In stark contrast to second seed Roger Federer, who produced an error-strewn performance in defeat to Kei Nishikori on Sunday, Djokovic hit just six unforced errors and won 86 percent of points on his serve, making a mockery of the apparent challenging nature of the playing surface. “The match was great, obviously,” said the 31-year-old. “I had three breaks of serve of John which is sometimes mission impossible but I managed to be at the right place at the right time.