Woe betide any ticket-holder who got stuck in the line for an ice cream at London’s O2 Arena on Monday — the action might have been all over by the time they returned to their pricey seat at the ATP World Tour Finals, as Stanislas Wawrinka pummeled Tomas Berdych 6-1, 6-1 in 58 minutes before the evening’s main course turned into fast food as world No. 1 Novak Djokovic needed two minutes less to send newcomer Marin Cilic packing by the same scoreline.
Defending champion Djokovic can clinch the year-end No. 1 ranking if he wins his next two Group A matches — and few would bet against the Serb managing that.
As for the Czech Republic’s Berdych and Croatia’s Cilic, they have a day to lick their wounds before meeting today in a match that both must win to keep their hopes of reaching the semi-finals alive.
Photo: EPA
Monday’s singles were the most one-sided contests since the Tour Finals arrived in London in 2009, eclipsing Roger Federer’s victory over Rafael Nadal in 2011 for the loss of three games.
In 2009, eight of the 12 round-robin matches went to three sets. None of the four singles matches so far have gone the distance, and organizers and fans alike will be hoping for a rise in the excitement levels in the days to come.
Djokovic extended his indoors winning streak to 28 matches with a clinical demolition of US Open champion Cilic, one of three debutants at the season-ender.
Photo: AFP
Cilic won the first five points, but what happened next was painful to watch for fans of the 26-year-old, which on Monday included Croatia’s soccer team, who arrived during the first set to cheer their compatriot on after arriving in town for a friendly against Argentina.
Djokovic picked Cilic apart with relish, claiming his 11th victory over the Croatian in 11 meetings and sending a reminder to the newest member of the Grand Slam club that the ruling class are not ready to roll over yet.
“It’s been a great, great match,” said Djokovic, who barely broke a sweat. “I haven’t played here for 12 months, it’s great to be back. It was a great performance.”
“Marin as a US Open winner has a lot of confidence, but I managed to neutralize his serve and get a lot of ball back in play, and that was part of the tactic,” the Serb said.
Cilic managed a wry smile afterward when asked to explain where it had gone wrong.
“In some matches the score keeps running. You are sinking a lot. You try to find something, but whatever you try, it’s not working. That’s what I felt today,” the Croatian said.
Wawrinka, who like Cilic also won his first Grand Slam this year in Australia, has been flitting in and out of form since beating Nadal in Melbourne. After losing in the quarter-finals of the US Open, the Swiss player had chalked up only one victory.
Yet his free-flowing game returned with a vengeance against the hapless Berdych, whose timing was badly off.
“I didn’t expect to win that easy for sure, but I was ready to play well,” said Switzerland’s Wawrinka, who made the semi-finals last year on his tournament debut. “I had a great week of preparation. Today, the start of the match was really important. That changed it completely.”
He came within a point of winning the opening set 6-0, but was thwarted by a Berdych ace.
His Czech rival could not turn the tide, however, and Wawrinka wrapped up victory before the hour mark.
Berdych, who has now lost his opening Finals match five years in succession, said he is facing “mission impossible” to reach the semi-finals, although Djokovic’s drubbing of Cilic could give him hope regarding the group permutations.
“Unfortunately, it was my worst match of the whole season and I kept it for the start here in the World Tour Finals,” Berdych told reporters.
In doubles play, US top seeds Bob and Mike Bryan were unexpectedly beaten by Lukasz Kubot of Poland and Sweden’s Robert Lindstedt, while third seeds Alexander Peya of Austria and Brazilian Bruno Soares edged out Jean-Julien Rojer of the Netherlands and Romanian Horia Tecau in a deciding tiebreak.
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