Injured Gael Monfils replaced by David Goffin at ATP World Tour Finals

In his second appearance at the O2, Milos Raonic is into the semifinals of the ATP World Tour Finals after finishing second in the Ivan Lendl group with a 2-1 record, clinching his spot by defeating debutant Dominic Thiem in straight sets in the final match of the round robin in the group.

“Numerous players have been talking about this format and the schedule, top players especially, because it just comes right after Grand Slams, right after World Tour Finals”.

But still he is not at the heights he has maintained for so long, and which have won him 12 Grand Slams and five ATP World Tour Final titles.

The Serb received a time violation during his 6-1 6-2 win over David Goffin, calling it “completely ridiculous” and “really not fair”.

Djokovic was in ruthless mood and breaks in the third and fifth games of the second set effectively ended the contest.

Djokovic was twice pegged back after breaking in the second set and had Raonic converted the set point that came his way when Djokovic tugged a backhand long at 5-6, the Canadian powerhouse might have taken some stopping.

Djokovic was already guaranteed to top the group while Goffin had no chance of progressing to the semi-finals, but there was still the small matter of almost £150,000 and 200 ranking points at stake.

It’s a bit of a break and opportunity for Djokovic to play his Thursday match against a hobbled Gael Monfils, who can only play for pride after being eliminated with his loss to Thiem.

And now the possibility of a Sunday final showdown between Murray and Novak Djokovic, with the No. 1 ranking on the line, looms large.

“All in all, two tiebreaks against a big server is a great win and great confidence boost”, Djokovic said.

“You’re telling me something that tells me that you have no clue about the game”, Djokovic said to Murphy during the changeover at 4-1. We had a good game plan to play against them. “It’s hard for him to come out here, he didn’t play his best tennis”. A win for either player, by any method, will be enough to reach the semi-finals for the first time in their career. “Everything has been going, as I said, in a positive direction. We will see next year, but I will try to do my best”.

“I should have done my job earlier, to be honest”.

He quickly moved ahead in the second set and though Thiem battled to stay within striking distance, chances to break the vaunted Raonic serve were not on offer.

There’s clearly a sense of hesitancy in Djokovic’s game.

“That’s something you wish for, to have everything in your hands, not to depend on other players”, Djokovic said. I’m glad that it’s like that. I have now a day of rest.

“I don’t know how the future of Davis Cup will look like”, Djokovic added.

He defended his schedule and didn’t rule out playing as many matches – he’s up to 81 now – next year.

The ITF have put forward plans to alter the competition, including staging the final at a neutral venue and reducing matches from best-of-five sets to best of three. “But that’s the number one thing I’ve got to do right now”.