Novak Djokovic

A spirited showing from Fritz saw the American recover a break deficit in the first set and surge to a 5-3 lead in the second. Despite struggling to consistently find his best level, Djokovic found a way to pull through in both tie-breaks as he wrapped a hard-fought one-hour, 54-minute victory at the Pala Alpitour.

Despite having already qualified for the semifinals, the Serbian pushed himself to his limits against Medvedev, prevailing 6-3, 6-7(5), 7-6(2) to top the Red Group with a 3-0 record, handing the 2020 champion a third straight third-set tie-break loss at the event. Djokovic is aiming to create more history this week and tie Roger Federer's record six triumphs at the prestigious year-end event.

It comes about 10 months after the Serbian was detained in Melbourne on the eve of the Grand Slam for attempting to enter the country without being vaccinated against COVID-19. Following a legal battle, Djokovic was deported and automatically banned from entering Australia for three years.

Djokovic, who overcame Stefanos Tsitsipas of Greece in his opening Red Group match, soaked up Rublev's powerful forehand during the first set, demonstrating great agility to hang in points in the quick indoor conditions to frustrate the sixth seed. The former World No.1 also fired his watertight backhand with great depth to dictate baseline exchanges, committing just six unforced errors to seal his 43rd victory of the season in 68 minutes.

In January 2022 the then Australian government revoked Djokovic's visa due to his uncertain covid-19 vaccine status. Although Djokovic won a temporary reprieve in the federal circuit court, the then immigration minister, Alex Hawke decided to cancel his visa.

Nadal is the top seed at the year-end championships for the fifth time. The Spaniard, this year's Australian Open and Roland Garros champion, will try to lift the season finale trophy for the first time. The lefty leads Green Group alongside Casper Ruud, Felix Auger-Aliassime and Taylor Fritz. Seventh seed Novak Djokovic will try to make history at the Pala Alpitour.

It was the ninth consecutive match victory for the fourth seed Djokovic, who won the title a week ago in Tel Aviv. This was the 90th tour-level title for the 35-year-old and it required only 75 minutes. For the third-seeded Greek Tsitsipas, it was the ninth time he played in an ATP 500 final -- and the ninth time he came up empty. Djokovic now leads their ATP head-to-head series 8-2 and has won the past seven.

Medvedev's retirement came moments after Djokovic had clinched a dramatic tie-break to level the match at 4-6, 7-6(6). It was an unfortunate end to what was shaping up to be one of the matches of the year on the ATP Tour, with both players bringing a high level to their 11th ATP head-to-head meeting. "I really hope that his injury is nothing too serious. I know Daniil, he's a great guy, he's a fighter, he's a big competitor.

Djokovic did not lose a set at the indoor hard-court ATP 250, where he was never in difficulty against a lineup of dangerous opponents. The 35-year-old claimed his third tour-level crown of 2022 and the 89th of his career. Cilic entered the final having faced just four break points all week, but he was under pressure on serve throughout the championship clash.

Djokovic dropped just three points on his serve in a near-perfect first-set showing as he stamped his authority early in his maiden clash against the world No. 104 Safiullin. The Russian, though, raised his level in the second set, finding his range with his powerful groundstrokes to break the top seed when he was serving for the match at 5-4. However, Djokovic remained composed in the tie-break to complete his third straight-sets victory of the week in Israel in 95 minutes.