Event of the Day: Nitto ATP Finals Day 6
Our event of the day is Day 6 of the Nitto ATP Finals at the O2 Arena in London. In the last of the group matches, Alexander Zverev faces John Isner in the afternoon fixture. The young German will be looking to bounce back from a crushing defeat at the hands of Novak Djokovic on Wednesday night. Djokovic will close out the group stage in a game against Marin Čilić during the evening session. Djokovic has secured a place in the semi-finals but second place in his group is anyone’s for the taking. Be sure you don’t miss what is sure to be a memorable day of tennis. The 2018 ATP Finals are not what people expected. With eight of the best tennis players in the world, this was expected to be a tournament of closely fought, prolonged games.
However, all but one match has been decided in straight sets and Kei Nishikori’s straight sets victory over Roger Federer hinted that maybe the tournament wouldn’t go the way many predicted or expected. Going into day 5, the Leyton Hewitt group of Roger Federer, Kei Nishikori, Kevin Anderson and Dominic Thiem was all to play for. Federer faced group leader Anderson and Nishikori was set to play last-place Thiem. In the afternoon session, Thiem stunned the on-form Nishikori, beating the Japanese player in straight sets. The win eliminated Nishikori from semi-final contention and gave Thiem a glimmer of hope for progression to the next stage of the competition. The match also meant that Kevin Anderson secured a place in the semi-finals. To deny Thiem and keep his chance of winning his 100th career title alive, Roger Federer only had to avoid losing in straight sets. Anderson and Federer had met five times before last night. While Federer had won the first four, Anderson had won their last matchup, in the quarter-finals of this year’s Wimbledon. Federer took the first set 6-4, meaning he was safely in the semi-finals. However, this meant that the rest of the match was now a fight for first place in the group. Federer gained plenty of confidence in the second set and strangled Anderson, taking the second set 6-3 (albeit on his third match point). With that, he won the Leyton Hewitt group and will face the second-place finisher in the other group, as decided by today’s matches. Hopefully today will provide two exciting matches at the O2.
Honourable mentions around the globe go to the NBA, where the Boston Celtics travel to Toronto to face the Toronto Raptors at the Scotiabank Center. Despite being labelled as a championship contender this season, the Celtics have been unable to fully compete with dominant seasons from teams such as the Raptors and the Milwaukee Bucks. However, they are showing some strength this season and sit in 4th with an 8-6 record. The Raptors meanwhile, led by all-star free agent signing Kawhi Leonard, have taken the Eastern Conference by storm for the second consecutive year. They are currently the team to beat, boasting a 12-3 record atop the conference table. You are not going to want to miss this matchup between two young, energetic teams hungry for success. Elsewhere, play continues in the Second Test between Sri Lanka and England in Pallekele. England will open the third day batting as they trail their hosts by 46 runs. In Premiership Rugby, Harlequins host Newcastle Falcons at the Twickenham Stoop. In the UEFA Nations League, the Netherlands play France at the De Kulp in Rotterdam. In horse racing, The Open begins at Cheltenham Racecourse.
Whatever you’re watching, enjoy!
Photos by ATP World Tour