ATP Finals Day 2 - How Do You Stop Novak Djokovic? Why Does Marin Cilic Keep Losing Leads? Traditional vs. Short Format Tennis

Former British doubles player Colin Fleming spent the day at the O2 arena as a fan, and afterwards he joined David and Charlie Eccleshare on The Tennis Podcast. Beers in hand, they start by discussing a masterclass from Novak Djokovic who dispatched John Isner in the evening session.

How did he handle the Isner serve so easily? And can anyone realistically stop Djokovic this week? 

The day’s other singles match saw Alexander Zverev defeat Marin Cilic. It was a match in which Cilic once again let a lead slip. Why does this keep happening? And how can he stop it? 

As for Zverev, how well did he play? Why was he talking to his coaching team so often? And what does Fleming think of Zverev’s partnership with Ivan Lendl? 

Finally, discussion turns to the Next Gen Finals, and specifically the different format showcased. Fleming was in Milan for the event and is a big proponent of many of the innovations. Why does he believe short sets could add intrigue to the ATP Tour? 

He defends his views against a host of counter-arguments. Do short sets not take away the ebb and flow of a set? Do they not introduce an unwanted element of randomness? 

The Tennis Podcast is produced weekly in association with Telegraph Sport, and daily at the Grand Slam tournaments.

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