World number two Novak Djokovic has sealed Serbia's place in the final of the ATP Cup after a thrilling three-set win over Russian and world number four Daniil Medvedev.
In a world-class contest, the 32-year-old held off his younger opponent to record a 6-1 5-7 6-4 victory in one of the matches of the tournament.
Serbia got their day off to the perfect start when Dušan Lajović upset Karen Khachanov 7-5 7-6 (1) in the opening match to give them an early 1-0 lead.
And it looked like Djokovic would continue where Lajović left off, playing some incredible tennis to race through the first set 6-1.
The chess match is on ♟@DjokerNole#ATPCup | #SRBRUS pic.twitter.com/0Xvln3fUVy
— ATPCup (@ATPCup) January 11, 2020
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However, Medvedev would show the pro-Serbian crowd why he led the tour in finals appearances (9) in 2019, recovering from a break down to take the next three games of the set.
Djokovic would eventually get the set back on serve, however, the class of Medvedev was too much, taking the second set 7-5 to send it into the decider.
What a beauty for the set!@DaniilMedwed breaks to seal the second 7-5.#ATPCup | #SRBRUS pic.twitter.com/NOvDLJ1iKQ
— ATPCup (@ATPCup) January 11, 2020
With both players serving up their best tennis, it would be Djokovic that would gain ascension, breaking the Russian's serve in the fifth game.
This has to be the best match of the ATP Cup
— Wide World of Sports (@wwos) January 11, 2020
WATCH: @Channel9
STREAM: https://t.co/5bsqpECkOf#9WWOS #ATPCup pic.twitter.com/fqQOrzX8Uw
This allowed him to race away with the match, holding his nerve to take the final set 6-4 to secure Serbia's place in the final.
"I've never seen anything like it!"
— Tennis TV (@TennisTV) January 11, 2020
Not sure we have either @DjokerNole #ATPCup pic.twitter.com/tolPWPdYZx
First to the final, 🇷🇸 #TeamSerbia!
— ATPCup (@ATPCup) January 11, 2020
Djokovic pulls out a hard-fought victory behind sterling tennis 6-1 5-7 6-4 over Medvedev to take the tie 2-0.#ATPCup | #SRBRUS pic.twitter.com/wvaukq6rQl
"It was an exceptional match," he said after the match.
"Yesterday I spent almost three hours on the court, today was pretty similar.
"Lots of rallies, more rallies than yesterday's match and it was very exhausting.
"Daniil Medvedev is one of the best players in the world and he showed today why.
"He's very difficult to break from the baseline...He's very tall, he's got a good serve and this was the greatest challenge I had so far this year."
The match garned wide-raging acclaims from the tennis community, with many labelling it as the early cadidate for 'match of the year'
The @ATPCup is the best tennis in the nation if not the world right now, bar none #ATPCup
— Craig Gabriel (@crosscourt1) January 11, 2020
Djokovic-Medvedev @ATPCup will rate a mention as a match of the year. We’re not two weeks into January.
— Gerry Marzorati (@marzoTennis) January 11, 2020
Never thought I’d say this, but the Australian Open has a lot to live up to after this #ATPCup.
— Jessica Dunne (@JessicaTeneal) January 11, 2020
Djokovic-Medvedev is a new contender for match of the tournament. Freakish stuff. #ATPCup
— Brendan Bradford (@1bbradfo) January 11, 2020
Serbia will face the winner of Australia-Spain on Saturday night, with Nick Kyrgios and Alex De Minaur looking to build off their incredible performances in the quarter-final.