Novak Djokovic admitted having his entire family sitting courtside for his ATP Finals match versus Andrey Rublev was a great motivational factor for him to deliver a great performance. On Wednesday, Djokovic saw off Rublev 6-4 6-1 in front of his wife, son Stefan and daughter Tara.
This week in Turin, Djokovic is aiming to win his sixth ATP Finals title and tie Roger Federer’s all-time record of six ATP Finals titles. “To be honest, I actually think it’s probably the first match that both my daughter and my son, along with my wife, have watched the entire match from the first minute to the last.
We played for just over an hour. It is so great to have them. For me, that is one of the biggest motivational factors that I have right now competing at the highest level. Having them courtside, watching and celebrating, hopefully with me,” Djokovic said.
Djokovic on the key moment of his win over Rublev
Both Djokovic and Rublev were delivering high-level tennis at the start of the match as not a single break point was seen in the first nine games of the match. Then in the 10th game, Djokovic saved a game point before clinching his first break point – which at the same time was his first set point.
Djokovic realized that set point and Rublev’s game collapsed after he lost the first set on a devastating way. “In the 10th game of the first set, I think he was 40/30 and we played a long rally and I just stayed in there and told myself chances will come.
He went down in his energy a little in the second [set] and I wanted to use the momentum and energy from my side in the first few games and it was a flawless second set,” Djokovic said. By beating Rublev in straight sets, Djokovic improved to 2-0 in his group and sealed a semifinal place.
