Novak Djokovic loses cool during press conference, watch video

Novak Djokovic was in combative form on and off the court as he began his ATP World Tour Finals campaign with victory over Dominic Thiem.

Knocked off the summit he had occupied for 122 weeks by Andy Murray last week, Novak Djokovic must better his British rival’s performance at London’s O2 Arena to snatch back the top ranking, but things did not go entirely to plan.

Djokovic won nine of 10 games to reach a 2-1 lead with a break of Thiem, sewing up the win on his first match point after two hours as he swept the last two sets.

In the opening match of the traditional season-ending tournament, Djokovic was warned for unsportsmanlike conduct when he smashed the ball in the direction of his box after losing the first set. Their last two meetings came this year, with Djokovic defeating Thiem in the round of sixteen of the 2016 Miami Masters, 6-3, 6-4, and during the 2016 French Open semifinal, 6-2, 6-1, 6-4. This marks the first time he has ever surrendered a set to the 23-year-old.

NOVAK DJOKOVIC won his match but lost the plot. As part of the Big Four he, Djokovic, Roger Federer and Rafa Nadal have been streets ahead of the chasing pack for years. With a win in London, he could still make it five out of six years. I don’t feel any different.

Simply put, Djokovic will have to outplay Murray – and everyone else – at the World Tour – to be able to seal the deal as World No. 1 for a third year running, and it’s looking a lot like Andy Murray’s year to do it and break yet another milestone.

Djokovic admitted at the time he was “lucky” – had he hit the nearby line judge, who was forced to take evasive action, he could possibly have been disqualified. He will face the victor of Sunday night’s clash between Milos Raonic and Gael Monfils in his second match on Tuesday. I played almost perfectly, but Since Wimbledon it’s not been so great’.

His nerves were showing as he failed to convert, double faulting on the first two, but he later managed to take his seventh set point, swatting away a forehand victor as the crowd roared their approval.

“He had a very high serve percentage and was the tougher player in the key moments of the tie-break”.

Problems with his wrist and arm have not helped, and Djokovic’s normally fearsome groundstrokes carried little pop as he and Thiem kept each other at arm’s length in the opening set.

“I lost a little bit of energy, not much, but just a little bit (after the first set)”, Thiem said. The exchanges between the two players were now as lengthy as they were entertaining meaning a crowd which had appeared subdued at the start were now absorbed by a set which was among the best of the season.

There was more one way traffic in the third as the 29-year-old ensured a winning start in his group, which is named after Czech legend Ivan Lendl.