Tennis is finally back: Adria Tour sees Djokovic lose and a ball boy win

Novak Djokovic’s Adria Tour has completed Day 1. The first tournament with fans had its fair share of surprises and fun moments throughout its inaugural day in Serbia.

Novak Djokovic’s Adria Tour has kicked off with a bang, becoming the first tennis tournament to be played with fans since the ATP Tour shut down back in mid-March. The event, beginning in Belgrade, Serbia, brought out some of tennis’ best, with the World #1 and tournament creator leading the way, as well as young guns Dominic Thiem and Alexander Zverev.

The tournament is utilizing the Fast4, Best of 3 formats to speed up the pace of play. Instead of playing to 6 games in a set, only 4 games are needed to win a set. If a set gets to 3-all, a tiebreaker will take place to determine the winner of the set.

The biggest story of the day came when Djokovic fell to fellow Serbian Filip Krajinovic 4-2, 2-4, 1-4 yesterday night. Djokovic started the match off strongly as he went up 4-2, 2-1. Krajinovic rebounded and played flawless tennis from that point forward, winning 7 of the next 8 games. Expertly utilizing his drop shot, Krajinovic cruised through and bested his countryman.

"“[Krajinovic] is a great guy,” Djokovic said post-match. “His work with his coach, Janko [Tipsarevic], is already producing results, and I’m positive that with the quality of his game and the amount of talent he has, if he keeps improving, he has a chance to be a Top 10 player.”"

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The surprise that came with Djokovic’s loss was compounded by his previous match, where he easily beat Victor Troicki 4-1, 4-1, in a match that was so one-sided that Troicki handed his racket to a ball boy to play for him (he ended up winning a point for Troicki on a slick drop shot). It’s likely that the World #1’s loss came down to rust and lack of competitive play over the last few months. That alone equalizes the playing field.

Krajinovic was arguably the tournament’s hottest player through Day 1. Before beating Djokovic, he had Alexander Zverev (current World #7) down 4-0, 2-0 before ultimately losing the match in three sets (4-2, 3-4, 3-4). Zverev went 2-0 on the day, slicing through Victor Troicki 4-1, 4-1 during the night session.

World #3 Dominic Thiem continued his rise to tennis’ top with a 2-0 showing of his own. After Damir Dzumhur retired at 0-2 down in the first set, Thiem played one of the tightest matches of the tournament so far, facing three match points while coming back from 6-3 down in the final set tiebreak before winning the tiebreak on 5 straight points.

The finalists will be determined after Day 2 of the tournament concludes. To advance to the finals, the top player from each group will need to win the most matches out of the 4 competing in the group. Thiem and Zverev both lead their groups and can clinch their spots in the finals against each other with a win.

Djokovic is behind Zverev in his group but the two play one another on Day 2. The two will be tied at the top if Djokovic beats him. Krajinovic could join the pair at 2-1 with a win against Troicki (the final member of the group).

Thiem leads his group but if he loses to Grigor Dimitrov (currently 1-1), they too would be tied atop the group.

Day 2 matches:

Group Novak Djokovic

Novak Djokovic (1-1) vs Alexander Zverev (2-0)

Filip Krajinovic (1-1) vs Victor Troicki (0-2)

Group Dominic Thiem

Dominic Thiem (2-0) vs Grigor Dimitrov (1-1)

Dusan Lajovic (0-2) vs Nikola Milojevic* (1-0)

*Milojevic is the alternate for Dzumhur after he pulled out due to injury

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