World Number 1 Novak Djokovic will take on third seed Alexander Zverev in the men's singles final of the ATP Finals 2018 at the O2 Arena in London on Sunday, November 18.
The much-anticipated final of the year-ending tournament will not start before 6 pm local time and 2 am SGT (next day).
Djokovic vs Zverev preview
The final will be a repeat of the second round Guga Kuerten group clash between the pair and Zverev will certainly be hoping the outcome isn't an encore.
Djokovic, on his part, stands on the cusp of a record-equalling 6th ATP finals triumph – a feat achieved only by Roger Federer in 2011.
The Serb has been almost unstoppable since his Wimbledon triumph earlier this year and has completed the most astonishing in-season turnaround for any player since the ATP rankings system was introduced in 1973.
Starting from above 20, he is now guaranteed to finish numero uno notwithstanding the outcome of Sunday's final.
Djokovic's amazing season kick-started in the Wimbledon semi-final against Rafael Nadal where he pelted 23 aces en route a dramatic five-set triumph. Since then, Djokovic has gone on a tear winning 36 of his next 38 matches and two grand slams in the process.
Djokovic has historically been known to have the best return in the circuit; and when the same man starts consistently holding serve, things become scary. That is exactly what has happened with Djokovic who is holding serve more than 9 out of 10 times and breaking serve one out of three times. But the unstoppable Serb is still looking to improve.
"It's still ongoing work," Djokovic said to the media on Saturday night. "It will continue because I feel like I always can improve that shot. Obviously glad that my opponents feel like I'm improving in my serve because it is ultimately the most important shot in the game."
Meanwhile, Zverev will look to forget the 77-minute 6-4 6-1 thumping he received from the same opponent earlier in the week and remind himself of the Rome Masters where he got the better of the Serb.
"Novak right now is the best player in the world," said Zverev. "It's very tough to beat him. He's barely lost a match in the last six months. He's playing amazing tennis. You have to play your best game to even have a chance. I hope I'll be able to do that tomorrow."
Zverev, on his part, has shown great poise and maturity in dismissing Federer in a straight sets semi-final win and will have to bring the same baseline aggression in the final. The German has won 75 percent of his first-serve points thus far in the tournament and will need yet another big service performance to get through the elastic returning abilities of Djokovic.
There is a lot on the line in the fourth encounter between the pair and fireworks are sure to fly under the bright lights of the O2 in London on Sunday evening.
Stats and Facts:
- Sundays final will be the 4th clash between Djokovic and Zverev
- Djokovic leads the head2head rivalry 2-1
- Djokovic is yet to drop serve in the ATP Finals 2018
- If Djokovic wins the final in straight sets, he will become the first man since Ivan Lendl in 1986 to achieve the feat
- If Djokovic wins on Sunday, he will become the oldest winner of the tournament at 31 years, 5 months
- Zverev is the first German finalist since Boris Becker in 1996
ATP Finals 2018: TV Guide
- UK: Sky Sports, BBC 2
- US: ESPN, Tennis Channel
- Canada: TSN, RDS
- France: beIN sport, Canal+
- Netherlands: Fox Sports
- Serbia: RTS
- Germany: Sky Deutschland
- Switzerland: SRG
- Japan: NHK
- Malaysia: Astro Supersport
- Singapore: Starhub
