Dominic Thiem of Australia became the first player to reach the semifinals of the ongoing ATP World Tour Finals after clinching a sensational win over world number two Novak Djokovic.
Thiem, who had stunned Swiss legend Roger Federer in straight sets last Sunday in his first match in Group Bjorn Borg, came from behind to defeat Djokovic 6-7 (5), 6-3, 7-6 (5) on Tuesday evening.
The Austrian also beat Roger Federer in his opening round-robin match so his place in the semi-finals is secured. That leaves Federer and Djokovic to battle it out on Thursday with the winner progressing to the next round.
This is not the first encounter between Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer. But when Djokovic was asked about match with Federer he gave a brash response. Djokovic told the Express UK, "Doesn't really matter."
"As you said, it's a round robin system, so I'm still in the tournament. We go head-to-head with Roger. Winner goes to semis. Loser doesn't qualify. As simple as that," Djokovic told the Express UK. On the other hand, Djokovic also said that Thiem deserved to win, "I thought he deserved to win. He just played very courageous tennis and just smacking the ball. He went for broke. I mean, the entire match he played same way he played the last point. I mean, I have to put my hat down and congratulate him, because he just played a great match," he told the Express UK.
