(Tennis news) Novak Djokovic secured his ninth consecutive win over Stefanos Tsitsipas in the opening match of the ATP finals, having previously defeated the Greek in Astana, Kazakhstan and the Paris Masters. The Serbian defeated Tsitsipas 6-4. 7-6 and continued his winning streak against the 24 year old that has extended for over three years. 

Speaking after the match, Novak Djokovic said “All the matches we've played have been decided by two or three points and that was again the case tonight. A break in these conditions is decisive.” The Serbian broke Tsitsipas’ serve in the opening game and closed the first set 6-4. Djokovic then went on to move ahead in the second set tiebreaker with a cross court backhand winner that landed on the line. 

In other results, Andrey Rublev sealed a 6-7 (7), 6-3, 7-6 (7) win over fellow Russian Daniil Medvedev after a 37-shot rally on his fifth match point. The 25 year old referenced the war in Ukraine by writing "Peace, Peace, Peace, All we need," on the tv camera lens. As part of the sanctions on Russia, Rublev, Medvedev along with other Russian and Belarusian players have been competing without a country and flag next to their names. In February earlier this year, Rublev made a similar plea by writing "No war please" on a TV camera lens following the invasion.

Also read: Paris Masters: Novak Djokovic secures easy win over Maxime Cressy