World Tour Finals - Djokovic

This is why I love him...

World number three Novak Djokovic was made to work incredibly hard by Nikolay Davydenko before being allowed to wrap up a 3-6 6-4 7-5 victory in their opening match of the World Tour Finals.

Djokovic, the defending champion at the tournament after his Masters Cup (as it was previously known) triumph in Shanghai at the end of last season, needed all his fighting spirit to get past the Russian in the two hours and 47 minute match and confirm many people's belief that he is the man to beat in London this week.

Both players made a blistering start to the match with the opening exchanges showcasing some of the best of the two players.

But, despite Djokovic looking marginally stronger on serve, it was Davydenko who drew first blood, breaking in the fifth game when his opponent sent a backhand down the line into the net.

The Russian quickly consolidated his lead before wrapping up the first set with another break, battering Djokovic into submission on the baseline throughout the game before sealing it with a forehand return of serve winner.

The Serb bounced back on serve in the second set, posting a couple of service holds to love early on, before saving break points in the fifth game.

The improvement on serve also seemed to instill more confidence in Djokovic on his ground-strokes and this time it was him who eventually broke the deadlock.

Davydenko, hugely impressive off both wings throughout the night, eventually saw his forehand breakdown and fired a forehand wide across court to concede his serve in the ninth game.

And Djokovic needed little more encouragement, taking up the second set and levelling up the match in the very next game when Davydenko again hit wide off the forehand wing.

A Djokovic break of serve in the first game of the third set appeared to leave Davydenko down and out, especially after a visit from the tournament doctor.

But the Russian stuck refused to be beaten and stuck with Djokovic throughout before eventually taking advantage of a tight game when the Serb was serving for the match.

Davydenko broke back in the 10th game with a stunning backhand winner straight down the line to keep the full-capacity crowd on the edge of their seats as the clock ticked down to midnight.

But Djokovic broke back immediately to love, when Davydenko missed a forehand down the line, and made no mistake as he served for the match for a second time, eventually wrapping up the win when the Russian hit a forehand long on a second serve return.

Pippa Davis / Eurosport