By Linda Pearce
London: A winning start to his ATP World Tour Finals defence was the prelude to further interview room irritation for Novak Djokovic, as the second seed took issue with a persistent line of questioning around a minor incident during his three-set defeat of Dominic Thiem.
After losing the first set tiebreak 12-10 to the Austrian eighth seed, a frustrated Djokovic received a code violation warning for unsportsmanlike conduct from chair umpire Carlos Bernardes after swatting a ball in the direction of his team, including coaches Boris Becker and Marian Wajda, that landed in the stands - but safely away from the fans - at the O2 Arena.
Having been reminded that he could have been defaulted from this year's French Open quarter-finals had the racquet he tossed in frustration injured a line judge forced to take evasive action, which followed a warning at the Rome Masters for throwing a racquet that bounced over the fence, Djokovic was asked whether he was concerned such incidents would one day cost him a match. He won this one 6-7 (10-12), 6-0, 6-2.
"You guys are unbelievable," said the 12-time major winner, protesting that "you're always picking these kind of things". Told that it could have been serious had a spectator been hit, the Serb sarcastically declared: "It could have been, yes. it could have snowed in O2 Arena, as well, but it didn't".
Winning start: Serbia's Novak Djokovic.Credit: AP
After questioning why, if he was such a repeat offender, he had not been suspended, Djokovic also queried rhetorically whether he was "the only player that shows his frustration on court? That's what you are saying?". Pressed on whether his attitude was a concern, he stated: "It is not an issue for me. It's not the first time I did it.".
Nor is it the first time in London this week he has snapped at a British reporter, having challenged the suggestion on Friday that he has been below his emotional and physical best in failing to continue his stellar form from the first half of the season past his history-making victory at Roland Garros, which completed a career grand slam.
Yet little wonder he is slightly on edge. The year-end No.1 ranking he has owned for the past two years - and five of the past six - is also under threat, with Wimbledon champion Andy Murray having ended his rival's latest 122-week hold on top spot during the recent Paris Masters.
Murray started this tournament leading by 405 points, which is effectively 130 when his Davis Cup finals haul from the corresponding week last year is deducted. Pool wins count towards not just semi-final qualification but also earn 200 rankings points and, by Sunday, every one may count. And yet, as recently as June, Djokovic led by more than 8000.
Novak Djokovic shakes hands with Dominic Thiem.Credit: Getty Images
More positively, Sunday marked his 10th consecutive appearance at the season finale, and his 19th win from his past 20 matches at the ATP's showcase event - his only defeat coming in the round-robin stage against Roger Federer last year.
Seeking to equal the absent Federer's record of six titles by winning his fifth in succession, Djokovic sought courtside treatment for a cut finger after just three games, but recovered strongly after losing the first set tiebreak, and declared himself pleased with his level after breaking Thiem in the opening game of the second.
"I felt more comfortable. I started swinging more freely in the second set. Obviously made him play an extra shot. He started making more errors, which I used," Djokovic said. "I was on top of his second serves, putting a lot of pressure. I thought I played very well in the second set especially, but the third as well."
The crowd, not unusually, was with Thiem, who was not just the underdog, but also not Djokovic, who it is fair to say is more admired than he is loved. The world No.9 is one of two debutants in the eight-man field, and also the youngest competitor, at 23. The last Austrian man to reach such heights was Thomas Muster, an altogether different player and character.
Having not won a set in three previous meetings against Djokovic, Thiem needed seven set points to finally clinch the first in 67 minutes, double-faulting three times in the tiebreak - including on consecutive set points at 6-3 - before finally unleashing a forehand winner down the line at 11-10 and punching the air in celebration.
But it is one thing to land a blow on Djokovic and another to knock him out - however far from first-half-of-the-year form the Serb may be.Thiem's let-down and his opponent's improvement combined for a second set rout in just 23 minutes. The third was more of a contest, but Djokovic had the better of it, breaking in the third game with some more aggressive tennis and improved returns, and limiting his errors from 15 in the first set to an aggregate of 25 for the two hour, two-minute match.
"It felt very good," he said. "Even though I lost the first set, I thought I didn't do too many things wrong. It was just the very high quality of his game that prevailed in the first set."
And Djokovic who prevailed in the end. His next opponent in Group Ivan Lendl will be Milos Raonic, who defeated Gael Monfils 6-3, 6-4 to simultaneously soothe any doubts over the thigh injury that forced his Paris semi-final walkover against Murray that guaranteeing Britain a career rankings high. In Group John McEnroe, top-seeded Murray opens on Monday night against Marin Cilic, following Stan Wawrinka against Kei Nishikori.