Day 1: Djokovic v Nishikori Tennis: World Tour Finals

Hello and welcome to the O2 Arena in London, what an exciting end to the

tennis you we have in store, next week written compete in the Davis

Cup final for the first time since 1978 when they take on Belgium.

First we are in London for the Barclays ATP World Tour Finals where

this trophy is at stake. The top eight players in the world are in

action and Andy Murray comes in as one of the favourites, he is the

world number two but there is no question that 2015 along to one

man, that man, Novak Djokovic. What a player, what an athlete and what a

year it has been for him. It has been the best season of my life into

them is a winning titles. The world number one wins the Australian Open.

That is what champions are made of, Novak Djokovic. The world number one

does not lie down easily. This moment belongs to Novak Djokovic. It

is Djokovic again. Novak Djokovic wins Grand Slam title number ten.

The relentless march past the game greats goes on. The rivalry made me

a better player. Now he is in a different class to his rivals and he

is the dominant force in tennis right now. He is on court today and

I am delighted to say that Tim Henman and Andrew Castle with me,

looking at Novak's year, he seems to be getting better and better. That

is the scary aspect and will intimidate the other players. You

look at the matches he has played and the tournaments he has one and

the matches he has lost, the significant one was the French Open

final against Stan Wawrinka but everything else he has dominated.

When you think about a game plan about how to have an impact against

Djokovic, it is so difficult because his return is so good and when you

get into the baseline rallies, he is aggressive off both wings and his

movement is the best the game has ever seen I think. He will certainly

be the player to beat and I would be surprised if he is not holding the

trophy at the end of this week. Interesting debate, is he the

greatest ever? We will have that debate on social media later. When

people first suggested that, people were laughing but now, three more

healthy years, he was in all four finals in the Grand Slams this year,

one much closer to a Grand Slam and Serena Williams, the game is so

simple as well, and he can still improve some areas. It has gone

quiet here and the players will be out in a moment but it is the usual

format, the top eight this year, no injuries this year. Two groups named

after the all-time greats, Stan Smith and Illy Nastase, who competed

in that 1972 final. This is this afternoon, Novak

Djokovic against Kei Nishikori Antoninus, Federer takes on Berdych.

Andy has been practising on the clay and the hard court as he takes on

David Ferrer. We are getting ready for this match and it is a huge

match for Kei Nishikori, his second time here at the Barclays ATP World

Tour Finals. He has had a difficult year, he has won three titles but a

number of injuries including a neck injury in Paris and a shoulder

injury before that so it has not gone according to plan and he has a

tricky match is an understatement, to start up against Novak Djokovic.

Can he find a way to win? He has many fans around the world, a

fantastic player and lovely to watch and he took a set off Djokovic here

last year but does he have the power to challenge the world number one?

Ladies and gentlemen, making his second straight appearance at the

Barclays ATP World Tour Finals, a winner of ten career ATP world tour

titles, from Japan, Kei Nishikori. APPLAUSE

Making his ninth successive appearance, with 58 titles and 26

Masters 1000 trophies and ten Grand Slams, defending champion and the

ATP world number one, from Serbia, Novak Djokovic.

We talk about his record, what a record it is, he has won 22

consecutive matches since losing the final in Cincinnati, that includes

the US Open, only losing one set since the US Open, he has been in

such commanding form. He has just been relentless, just as I said to

Tim, getting better and better, people are struggling to get games

off him. It is getting ridiculous how good he is but Nishikori can

push him because he can stay at the back of the court, you mentioned

that set here last year, there was a time in that match when Nishikori

got under Djokovic's skin, he can match him movement wise at the back

and can soak up a lot of pressure and take the physical punishment. A

little bit of frustration from Djokovic in that match last year, he

soon turned it round, winning 6-0 in the final set but Djokovic sometimes

doesn't feel he gets the adoration that some of the other superstars

get. We are talking about clutching at straws playing against him but if

you hang in there he will make one or two mistakes, he is mobile enough

to make Djokovic it an extra ball now and again. If we are looking for

possibilities of a close match, he has beaten Djokovic twice before.

But you say he has not had the adoration, not the magic of a

Federer but the relentless pressure that he puts on people which I do

not think crowds appreciate perhaps as much as they should. Perhaps, he

does not have the variation of a Federer but if you look at how game

is, it is relentless. We will now observe a one-minute silence to

remember those who lost their lives in the tragic events in Paris on

Friday night. Thank you ladies and gentlemen.

APPLAUSE All of the lines are covered,

machine calling the net and Hawk-Eye in effect and TV changeovers. Heads

or tails? Heads is the call. Tails. Good match.

The toss completed and the match underway very soon, just remembering

those who lost their lives in the tragic events of Friday night in

Paris has heightened our awareness in the importance of security. There

is no one arriving today, by tube, who will have not remembered what

happened here in London and what happened in Paris on Friday night.

Everyone was prepared for extra security checks, a greater

visibility of security around. Everybody accepts that, it is a

global sport and we all have friends in different countries and France is

one of the Grand Slam nations and no one could fail to be moved by

Friday. It is on everybody's mind because it is such a large

gathering. Beautifully observed here as you would expect. Yes, this is

such a respectful sport as well. The crowds that turn up around here,

remembering that but also the way they watched their sport they are a

respectful crowd. Very much so, the history and tradition are one of the

cornerstones of our sport. It is what Wimbledon is all about and when

you come to the significance of the World Tour Finals, it is a majestic

way to finish the year and it has been around the world, in New York

at Madison Square Garden, Shanghai, and it has been such a success

here, delighted it will be here for a few more years but as you say, a

great way to start this week. This is a lovely match to start with,

starting with this man, he has been in just such awesome form, winning

three out of the four Grand Slams. There are all sorts of stats you can

pick out of Novak Djokovic's numbers and say that is the most

significant, his numbers are extraordinary, right up there in the

top echelon. We talk about this generation time and again with

Federer and Nadal, joined by Andy Murray and Novak Djokovic and

Djokovic surging ahead. I spoke to Federer about the generation just

the need, they have not really happened, not quite. Milos Raonic,

Dimitrov, they have not been able to match up and challenge these guys,

where that challenge will come from I don't know because he is setting

new standards. Back in 1969, Rudd labour made four Grand Slams in a

year, not until 2006 did a player make the final of all four slams.

Novak has done it twice and he is only 28. There are numbers you can

point and, the big one is that he is number one by miles. And he has been

number one at this tournament, going for a record fourth consecutive win

at these champions, even Lendl was the last to do that, and the last

one was the year Djokovic was born in, that shows how difficult this

event is and how good he is. Stating the obvious it is difficult to win

because you have the eight best players in the world. In the context

of Djokovic's game and how he plays indoors at the Asia swing where he

does not look like he loses in China, he comes in with so much

confidence, the number one is signed and sealed for another year and it

would be an amazing achievement to be the first player ever to win this

event four times in a row. And we all think that will happen. Let us

hear from the man of the moment. I have relied on my defensive skills

throughout my career a lot and managed to win some tough matches

because of getting balls back in play. I have also developed the

skill to penetrate through the rally from the first or second ball and

not to get into long exchanges. That is one of the biggest improvements.

This year, is there a standout memory of 2015? Best season of my

life so there have been a lot of highlights. Grand slam titles, US

Open final and the Wimbledon final I would add as standout moments. But I

have had plenty of wins that gave me a lot of joy and fulfilment and just

trying to cherish every moment I stand on the court because I know

right now it is the time of my life in terms of maximising my potential

and my abilities and I hope I can continue on with this great level of

tennis here in London. Hard to bet against that, affecting great things

from Djokovic, what can Kei Nishikori do? His year has not been

the best by his standards, a number of injury problems and he has not

beaten a player ranked above him but he does have a game that can worry

him but needs to be at his best. He does and he needs to hope that

Djokovic, first match of a new event is a bit nervous for some reason and

his level drops a bit. When you try to put together a game plan of how

to have an impact against Djokovic, the first opportunity is with a big

serve. If you can hit the spot hard and set up for the second shot of

the rally and dictate, that is not an option for Nishikori because he

does not have that big weapon. The baseline exchanges, a big mover, if

one area you can have an impact is looking to take the ball down the

line. If you take it down the line you are looking to get the first

strike in the rally but the reality is you are hitting over the high

part of the net and less court, so there is greater risk and that is

the challenge. You really have to roll the dice and go for your shots

but if you do that you can make a lot of unforced errors so it will be

interesting to see if Nishikori can have an impact on the back of the

court. He has brought in Michael Chang as well, US Open finalist last

season, we talked about who would come up from the Next Generation and

many thought Kei Nishikori would win Grand Slams and be the next big

thing but it has not quite happened. Maybe the US Open, as we saw with

Stan Wawrinka, it can affect you. It was a great achievement and an even

bigger achievement for Marin Cilic to win the US Open but the problem

these players have behind Federer, Nadal and Djokovic and Murray to a

certain extent, we are asking them to make an impact on three of the

greatest players of all time. When you reflect on where they are in

terms of grand slam titles, 41 between them, but on 17, Nadal, 14,

Djokovic ten and will win a lot more. These three might go down as

three of the best in history, those other players are great players, to

qualify for the World Tour Finals is a fantastic achievement but I feel

they are matching their potential, maximising their potential but what

else can they do? We are asking who you think is the greatest? You can

get in touch with us on Twitter or the BBC tennis Facebook page, get in

touch with us on social media. It is Djokovic against Nishikori.

COMMENTATOR: World number one, ATP World Tour Finals, staying in London

through 2018. This is the first match of this edition.

I should say the first singles match, Jamie Murray was a winner

with John Peers today against the Italian duo so a great start for

Jamie Murray. And now onto the singles, world number one.

That is seven games in a row that Nishikori has lost to Djokovic on

this very court, in the semifinal last year, Djokovic was getting

uptight when he lost the second set of that semifinal, it would be the

last match that he would play, Roger Federer injured his back against

Stan Wawrinka in a magnificent semifinal and was not able to take

the court, Andy Murray coming in at the last minute to play a singles

exhibition against Novak Djokovic. And also that night, some doubles

with some old men including my co-commentator Tim Henman. Have you

played a bit since then? A little bit but let us keep our fingers

crossed there are no injuries this year. A crowd of 17,500 in this can

configure and in this wonderful arena.

It is a very slow court, it is just like Paris a couple of weeks ago,

the tennis balls are quick as they go through the air but the surface

is very slow. Nishikori hitting a lot of

aggressive shots already, looking to go down the line but it is so

difficult to get any reward against Djokovic because his movement is so

good. On a quicker court, that backhand

down the line from Nishikori might have been the winning shot, against

other players it might have been a shot that would set up a winning

opportunity but against Djokovic you have do hit another, then another

and another and that is the value of his movement, the defence that gives

him. He has another break point. That was a terrible drop shot after

a tremendous return of serve. Certainly one of Nishikori's better

serves, in the corner at 121 mph but Djokovic still able to return the

ball a foot from the baseline and neutralise the first strike for

Nishikori. Early contender for worst drop shot of the week, that one.

Nishikori's plan is to clearly take the ball on when he has the chance.

He can move with Djokovic, can't he? He certainly is a good athlete but

he is capable his technique, good early preparation and racket

acceleration to take the ball down the line, it is a high risk strategy

but it is the only way he will have an impact.

Just easing their way through the gears. That is Top Gear ground

strokes. You talk about the red counter on a car, Nishikori playing

points like that he is redlining it, he is at the maximum of his

capabilities. Is he going to be able to maintain that without making

unforced errors, that is hard to do. And then you talk about Djokovic's

technique, his footwork and movement, he is able to play so

aggressively with very little risk, the ball is clearing the net by

three or four feet but hitting it with heavy spin and not giving

Nishikori a chance to get forward. That is just pressure paying off and

that is a wonderful break of serve from Djokovic. That return of

serve, it was 118 mph on the serve but the return comes back and not

only is it neutralised but it puts you on the back foot. With

Djokovic's current form, he does not need to send out too many messages

to his opponents, they know how well he is playing that even after two

games, stamping his authority on this first set.

26 years of age next month, Kei Nishikori, got up into the top 20 in

2012 and 2013, reached number five last year, number eight now.

And he is the youngest in this field by quite a long way at 25 years of

age. You have to go down to world number 14 to find someone younger,

that is Milos Raonic and then David Coffin at 16 in the world, he is 24

years of age as well. -- David Goffin.

Wow. It is hard enough hitting one winner but when you have do hit

three, four, five, Boris Becker on the left of course. As of the coach

down there and the whole team of Novak Djokovic on the physical side

has been remarkable. Earlier this week, it was announced

that this tournament would stay in London until 2018.

It is the thing for the executive who built this event, and Queen's,

it is hard to resist the allure of the Far East, the big money out

there and the Middle East as well, China as well, there are a lot of

offers to take this event. There certainly is and it is a great

attraction of this event, they take it to different markets but when you

reflect on what a great city London is, the tradition of the tennis here

and how successful this event has been, it has been the most attended

single week event in tennis history, so to take it away from that at this

moment in time, I think, would be madness, so it is an excellent

decision and Chris Kermode deserves a lot of credit for that but also

the success of this event from the start. Rafael Nadal would like it on

clay now and again and I have some sympathy with that argument. David

Ferrer wouldn't mind that, Wawrinka one the French Open, they can all

play on clay, Federer would probably like it on grass!

He has got a point, hasn't he, Rafa? There is no reason it shouldn't be

on other surfaces. It is up to scheduling and seasons around the

world as to where it can be played outdoors and where it would fit into

the calendar, with Paris being the last event on the tour.

Must be practising something. It is a lovely rhythm to watch and you can

hear the sound of the feed on this indoor court. -- the feat. A lot of

shoe rubber down on this brand-new surface.

It was the right idea. It is interesting, Nishikori is a very,

very good player, you watch this match and you think is there really

a plan B for him? His plan a is hitting aggressively, is it going to

be good enough against Djokovic? Does he have a plan B against

anybody? This is the game he plays. It is and it is good enough to beat

most players, but that the other end of the court, we would say does

Djokovic have a plan B? I don't really think so, it is just that

Plan A is so good. From this group and later on

tonight, Roger Federer in action against Tomas Berdych. Tomorrow,

2pm, BBC Two, for us, David Ferrer of Spain against Andy Murray.

It looked when Kei Nishikori's shot landed, about an inch from the

line... Top spin, taking it out wide with pace and it gets the treatment.

Disheartening, to say the least. Two of the best backhand that

Nishikori can hit, deep into the backhand corner, setting up the down

the line shot. Really executed it very well.

He is just absolutely on fire, isn't he, Djokovic? I know it was

ambitious at the end but at the moment, I can't take my eyes off his

movement on the tennis court. He sprayed this one a bit but the

forces that he puts his body through...

And he is off and running. Djokovic shouldn't mistake this applause for

being an anti-Djokovic sentiment, it is just that when he plays,

everybody cheers a bit for the opponent because they want to see a

match. It is not this respect, it is just a hope that they will see a

close contest, because so often, Djokovic matches this year have not

been close, he is that good. Sometimes, he takes it personally.

We have seen the worst drop shot of the tournament, this was certainly

the best. UMPIRE: Mr Nishikori is challenging

the call on the right hand line. Mr Nishikori has two challenges

remaining. So the number one seed here, the

defending champion, Novak Djokovic, 4-1 up. It is day one of the

season-ending finale on the full tour, the top eight players only,

and the top eight doubles teams, already a win for Jamie Murray and

John Peers today. And elsewhere in the world, tennis goes on at the

challenger level, well done to Dan Evans, in the final of a challenge

at Knoxville, tennis he, on the hard court, but nobody would think he is

going to make the Davis Cup. The action kicks off on Friday. The

really interesting results for me this week have come from Buenos

Aires, a challenger on clay, Kyle Edmund, 20 years of age, is in the

final. To win, to go to South America and win for matches and is

now in the final against Carlos Berlocq, I think he has put himself

into pole position to be the number two player behind Andy Murray in the

Davis Cup. It is certainly another interesting decision for Leon Smith

and it is great timing, because we have to remember James Ward won a

challenger in India on hard court a couple of weeks ago, so he has some

matches under his belt, but just the scenario for this opportunity for

the second singles match and you have three guys winning matches.

After the previous Davis Cup tie, no one was really in any form except

for Andy Murray, so the guys winning matches and it will boil down

between Ward and Kyle Edmund. Ali Ashby Dean has an appeal at the

tennis Federation as to whether he can represent Britain, he has

already represented Slovenia, albeit in dead rubbers. It is all to be

sorted this week. Would you pick him if he was allowed

to be picked? I would tell the lawyer to have a sickie and come in

a couple of days later so the decision could be after the Davis

Cup final. If he is given the all clear to play, you have got to pick

him. From Leon Smith, if he has a second

player who is ranked 50 in the world and he is available to represent

your team, you would be mad not to pick him.

I just can't believe, from the ITF's point of view, with the timing

of the match and the timing of the decision, I would have just thought

about leaving it until December to let whatever happens happen and then

they can decide on Bedene's future in British tennis.

Djokovic really putting down the hammer in this match. Mine is just

drifting ahead to the Davis Cup final, Great Britain versus Belgium

-- minds. About team selection. We are happy to take your views on

that. He had his man, as well. Michael

Chang in one coaching camp, that is one side.

We have discussed Djokovic's level of play, which has been incredible,

but to me, he almost looks leaner, like he has lost weight. I don't

know whether that is the case. We talk about the conditioning of

these players, Federer was saying that back in 2004, they kind of

figured out what they want to do through each phase of their career.

Djokovic now says he has the training down for him, it is

optimised for each individual and it takes time to learn it.

Early on in his career, Novak Djokovic had all sorts of problems,

not just with injury, as he grew into his strength and his body, but

he seems to be ill all the time. They examined the diet and he is no

gluten free, he continues to fight that.

He says there is no magical Alexia Fiddes, this is work. -- no magic

elixir for this. And the hard work has paid up, Novak Djokovic, the

dominant force in men's tennis, defending champion here in London,

is one set up after just half an hour.

SUE BARKER: Djokovic just in a class of his own as we expected, with the

form he has shown a recent weeks, and we have axed due to get into

touch -- in touch as to where he stands are the greatest of all time.

A mixed bag, Dean Jackson says we will find out by the end of his

career by how many Grand Slams he has want and how long he spends at

number one. For me, he is one of the best but will never get close to

Federer. Michael says he could surpass Federer in years to come if

he continues how he does the ship. Jack has been quite tough, he says

top ten, not top five, though. But another Jack, Jack London, says

Djokovic is the best player ever, he has had to overcome redder and Nadal

in their prime to get where he is. -- overcome Federer and Nadal.

Charlotte says Djokovic is the greatest, no one has dominated like

this and will dominate for some time to come. That is what you have been

saying and please get in touch if you differ from what you have heard

and want to say anything about Rafael Nadal and his domination on

the clay courts. This man is seven Grand Slams behind Federer but he

has won three this year and is looking unstoppable at the moment.

Back to Tim and Andy, what are your thoughts?

ANDREW COTTER: I knew you would chuck that one back.

I would say that if you never saw Rod Laver play, you missed out on a

contender. If Bjorn Borg could travel to Australia, he would have

won some of those. So many ifs and buts, three of the Grand Slams used

to be on the grass courts, maybe that favoured Rod Laver but what is

without doubt is what Tim was saying earlier on and it pains me to agree

so thoroughly, with Federer and Nadal and Djokovic, it is a

remarkable generation and for Andy Murray to make himself a part of

that argument as well, and for Stan Wawrinka to respond quite late in

his career, age wise, I think it has been amazing from all of the guys.

Is Djokovic doesn't ever win the French Open, can he begins -- be

considered the greatest of all time? Pete Sampras never did either. Just

thought I would mentioned -- mention it.

UMPIRE: Mr Djokovic is challenging the call, left-hand line.

Mr Djokovic has two challenges remaining.

Must win game for Cana Shaqiri, you would say, at the beginning of the

second set -- Kei Nishikori? He needs to get some sort of foothold,

otherwise with the consistency of Djokovic, the momentum that he has,

it will be one-way traffic. No. Last year's event was a bit of a

disappointment on the tennis court until we had that wonderful

semifinal, Wawrinka - Federer. There weren't that many great matches.

This year, the expectations are higher. Rafa Nadal, the great man is

back, we are looking forward to that.

The field looked tired last year, a couple of injuries around, people

were dealing with things, Rafa was not there, it didn't quite have it.

Then we didn't have a final at all, we had to put up with you playing

doubles. This looks a little one-sided at the

moment, it is a set and 1-0 break, Djokovic. With Nishikori not having

the weapon on his serve, they are getting into baseline battles and

that is where Djokovic is so dominant. On his serve in the first

set, Djokovic only lost three points. He is aiming at the

backhand, Nishikori, that is what that is telling you, in the baseline

exchanges. What do you do? Given Nishikori's tools, if you are

coaching him now, what would you say he has to do? Even if there was

nothing, what would you tell him? Again, it goes back to the strategy

of looking to get the first strike in and that is taking the ball down

the line if you get a chance, but that is a very high risk strategy.

Djokovic, with his movement and how well he is able to place the ball,

keep the ball deep... The risk at times is greater than

the reward. The first one of those in this

match. From either player. That was interesting, but highball,

he kept his eye on it. It was interesting how he handled the

passing shot, it was a great attacking backhand from Nishikori

but again, with the athletic ability, Djokovic able to find a

passing shot down the line to set up the put away.

In a nutshell, he just has to do this for another 90 minutes. He got

inspired during their semifinal second set, when the chips were down

last year, Nishikori. He was the only person to take a set off

Djokovic. Again, another tactic you could

think about is if you have a very good slice, to try and change the

pace, keep the ball low. Nishikori doesn't have that shot, he doesn't

have the slice, so it is not part of the equation.

He has got the better forehand slice, that one shot through the

surface, difficult to handle. And it is a measure of how little

threat Djokovic feels from Nishikori that his first serve percentage is

75%. He is throwing in big kicks, 107, 110, 112 mph, just to get at

these baseline rallies, he knows he will win most of them.

UMPIRE: Mr Nishikori is challenging the call, write me a line, the ball

was called out. Ali merely of the United States chairing this first

singles match. Just out. Call stands, gain

Djokovic. The line judge trying not to smile. To say "how dare you doubt

me?" Points won after first serve, a

third, that is how good Djokovic returns.

Coach Chang not exactly overjoyed that his man is off and running, the

first Asian man to reach a Grand Slam final, where he beat Djokovic

on the way before losing to Marin Cilic last year. Perhaps he could

yet make this second set close. I told you this is the eight-man

finale to the end of the year, this is where players have been in terms

of the Masters 1000 series. The hard courts of North America

after Wimbledon. You will see Djokovic, six Masters 1000 series

tournament wins, the first time anybody has one 6 of those. -- won

six of those in a year. It is an outrage, to win six of them? It is,

because in some respects, the consistency and quality of your

opponents are potentially greater in a Grand Slam, 128 players in the

Grand Slam, sections of the drawer open up a bit more, to dominate the

best in the world so consistently is an incredible achievement. No

pigeons around is what you are saying, no cannon fodder like me, it

has to be a 256 draw. Definitely no one like you but there are easier

matches than others. Harsh thing to say, on my birthday as well, I can't

believe you. Looking good for 59. Set and a break.

There is always an element in the player 's game that is less talked

about, the power of concentration, it goes with age, I can tell you

that. Novak has been very strong in that area as well, hasn't he? He

controls his mental side where it is a real projection down to the other

end of the court, to walk out against him, whether you are

rougher, Roger, Andy or Stan, you do not think you are going to get this

guy any time soon. Roger Federer is the only man to

beat Djokovic twice this year and he has only lost five times to Novak.

His game is about in graining good habits, his forehand, his backhand,

his movement. He has ingrained such good habits

that when he comes out on court to play matches, irrespective of who he

plays, he basically plays the same way and he obviously controls that

mentally. Like a repeating golf swing, goes out and delivers every

time. At 6-1, 3-1, there is no taking his

foot off the gas. Just recognises when to move up the court when he

hits that shot that is a little bit cheaper. -- deeper.

Mr Djokovic challenging the call. If he has missed a second serve return

it would be unusual. It landed quite short in the court, a kick-serve,

and it caught the back. Advantage Djokovic, there might be a bit of

argument about this. It is an area that has to be tightened up, a

problem judgment for the umpire. It is a judgment call and the umpire

feels the call made by the line judge was after Nishikori had hit

his backhand into the net therefore it did not impact his shop. But

sometimes the first serve is in but the umpires make you replay the

point, I happen to agree with the umpire by the way. And that will

probably be that, less than an hour played an Djokovic in complete

control, a set and 4-1. Looking further down the list, having spoken

with Federer, he says the generation beneath, the likes of Dimitrov,

Nishikori is 25, Dimitrov 24, Raonic 24. The next lot, the youngsters,

one of them, number 30 in the world is 20 years old, he stands out

because he is the youngest by miles around, Nick Kyrgios, if he guesses

at together, he could make his way to the top, couldn't he? Very much

so, enormous talent and great skills on the court but there are three

attributes you need, technical elements, the physical elements and

the mental elements. I think the mental aspect is where there are

questions. Hopefully he will have the right people around him, I think

Lleyton Hewitt will play an important part in getting him on the

straight and narrow and then he will start winning titles. Kei Nishikori

left Japan, sponsored to go to America, he worked so hard. You can

imagine how alien that environment felt to him but he decided, and his

family, decided that was the price and here he is. Second year in a row

and the World Tour Finals. Happy to hear from you this week on any

issues you want to talk about on social media.

We will have a good read through and hopefully get some of them on air

when we can. Would you send your 13 or 14-year-old overseas to pursue a

life as a professional sportsman? It is a big call. I sort of hope I

would not want to make the decision, I would want the individual to make

the decision, if they have the hunger and desire to do that, you

would like to give them the opportunity.

Plenty of people out there listening saying they would quite happily send

their 14 or 13-year-old awake. A big decision, Andy Murray went at the

age of 15. Even Novak Djokovic went to Germany, for a couple of years

from ages 12 to 14. He is going to be feeling a bit

bruised at the moment, Kei Nishikori, number eight in the world

but getting hammered here. A lots of one-sided matches last

year. Impossible not to be a bit disheartened if you are Kei

Nishikori when you are a set and 5-1 down.

Change of direction to the forehand side proving too much there and the

autograph hunters gather, match point.

That is an absolute demonstration of world-class tennis from Novak

Djokovic. The last time he played here it was Federer in the Wimbledon

final, this time back in London and indoors, it is Kei Nishikori with no

answer. Very comfortable, actually a brilliant performance if not a great

spectacle. Kei Nishikori will next play against

Roger Federer or Tomas Berdych, he still has two matches to play, he is

not out of it yet. The world number one presentation is about to take

place on the court but your thoughts on that match and the performance

from both players, what did you make of it? Normal service resumed for

Novak Djokovic, a real clinic, clean in all aspects of his game, first

serve percentage, 72, nine points lost on serve in the whole match and

dominated all aspects. From Nishikori's point of view, this is a

tournament where you can lose a match and still go through. He is

going for four in a row, nobody has done that, he is off and running,

first match played, Federer and Berdych later on. This is the Stan

Smith group. What Tim was alluding to, losing a match and getting

through, two people go through to the semifinals from each group. So

you can not go through having won two matches or you can go through

having won one, but we will get into the mathematics when we need to. A

38 match indoor winning streak for Novak Djokovic stretching back to

2012, you would not want to enter a tournament other than indoors

really. Ladies and gentlemen, we now have a

special presentation on court, Novak Djokovic has secured the year end

number one ranking for the fourth time in his career after 2011, 2012

and 2014. APPLAUSE Would you please welcome onto court,

the ATP executive chairman and chairman who will present Novak with

the 2015 ATP Tour world number one trophy presented by emirates.

APPLAUSE Ladies and gentlemen, the world

number 14 2015, Novak Djokovic. -- world number one, four 2015.

At 28, Novak has become only the sixth man to clinch the year end

number one ranking on four occasions, an incredible year for

the Serb sensation, reaching all four grand slam finals winning the

US Open, Wimbledon and the Australian Open. He also became the

first player to win six Masters 1000 events in one season, he arrived at

the Barclays ATP World Tour Finals with a stunning 78-5 match record,

six times in eight years he has reached at least 70 wins, records

keep on being broken, he has had one of the greatest seasons of all time,

congratulations Novak. That is a very big trophy,

congratulations, can you give us your thoughts looking back on a

wonderful season? Undoubtedly it has been the most successful and best

year of my life as a matter of fact, I became a father in the meantime

and got married, those are the kind of trophies and milestones that mean

the most to me. It did reflect in a positive way in my tennis game and

my tennis career, I have been experiencing some of the peak times

right now of my abilities and everything got together, over the

years I have had lots of success, I was very consistent with my results

in 2011 and 2015 stand out. Looking back with great pride and joy and of

course, my team, even though it is an individual sport, my team play a

big part in this, most of all, my friends, and people I can rely on.

They are helping me each and every day to get better. As a player and

as a person. My wife, my son, my parents, my brothers, all of the

closest people in my life are sacrificing a lot for me to play the

sport I love and I try to cherish every moment spent on the court and

be grateful and this is definitely the crown for all of the

achievements the season. We wish you the very best of luck for the

Championships as well ladies and gentlemen, Novak Djokovic.

He would just like to say something else. I apologise, I did not want to

speak to long but I would like to reflect on what happened a couple of

days ago in Paris. All my heart goes to the families of the lost ones and

it is devastating to see those images in the footage and I want

everybody to make warm applause in remembrance to those people, thank

you. Thank you. APPLAUSE SUE BARKER: Don't forget the trophy,

Novak! Of course, all the photographers want to have a shot of

that, that will be going around the papers all around the world, but

great words from Novak Djokovic. He is very sensitive, as an

interviewer, he is one of my favourites to interview, he is very

giving and always remembering those who have supported him, talking

about his team and his wife, who has been with him for so long. Tim, you

know how difficult it is to play on the tour and the highs and lows that

go with winning and losing and those around you get as affected as you

do. Certainly, they are an important foundation for someone like Novak in

an individual sport. He has a great team around him, great family and

now with a wife and a child, he takes on even more responsibilities.

But when you hear him not only talk about his game this year and over

the past four or five years, he talks with great maturity and he is

a great ambassador for our sport and I think it is also a great

reflection on the leadership of Federer and Nadal before, they have

been incredible ambassadors and he is very much following in their

footsteps. We touched on it earlier, Andy, about how the public haven't

really taken him to their hearts as they have Federer and Nadal but I

think that will happen. We have seen it so often with players in the

past, the older they get and the more familiar people get, the more

they are loved. If you look invincible and you are perfect on

the court that you win everything, we talk about how well he speaks and

he speaks well because he is very smart and intelligent and articulate

and very well practised at receiving trophies and making speeches. His

tennis has been impeccable and until we start seeing some flips and some

emotion, like when he lost in the French Open to Wawrinka and he

showed emotion to the crowd and you saw a few tears flow, suddenly

people understand there is a human and not a machine there, so it may

be confusing to him when his opponent sometimes get a lot of

support but it is not confusing to anyone else, because we want to see

close matches. But he is a very human man and he absolutely gets his

responsibility, so in that way, tennis is led from the top, as it

should be. Other sport should be very grateful for someone like this

at the top. You mention Stan Wawrinka, who beat him at the French

Open, they are very good friends and has he turned up in London, Wawrinka

gave him a key ring of his plaid shorts in which he beat him in

France and he took it in very good spirit. I mean, that was probably

the match, people have been tweeted in, if he can win the French... He

got very close and you wouldn't bet against it but it really hurt him

this year. Obviously that was the second Grand Slam of the year and we

didn't know what would unfold at Wimbledon and the U.S. Open, the way

he has dominated the Masters, but on reflection, if he could have one go

at the match he lost first year, he has only lost five, that would be

the one. But Wawrinka produced some of the most devastating and

attacking tennis I have seen for a long time and it takes that kind of

performance, those kinds of weapons, to get past Djokovic and today's

match against Nishikori, you see the scoreline and you think one-on-one,

Nishikori had a bit of a nightmare. Well, he did, but he didn't play

that badly, it is just a huge gulf in the quality of the players. Andy

Murray, having lost to him in the final in Paris, he said you have to

go out there and be aggressive, you won't beat him from the back of

accord, he is too good at that game, but it is getting the balance right

and not making errors, but didn't get it right. Murray blew him off

the court after the semifinals over two sets, he had just beaten

Nadal... Sorry, I just meant the recent Paris tournament. You are

talking about patience and aggression, how to play Novak. It is

something that... I think Andy Murray can stay level is it is

something that... I think Andy Murray can stay there visiting with

him but we will have to see the next match, if you go out there and you

are Andy Murray and you are physical like he is, can you stay at the back

of the court and say, I am going to outlast you and get under your skin

that way? That might be possible. The other way is to go for your

shots, like the burden for shirts -- third and fourth sets in the French

Open. We will have to see how they match up. Just watching some of the

highlights the highlights from Djokovic's side of the net because

Nishikori didn't really have any ancestor day. He has got a big game

but it wasn't wasn't really there. -- have any today.

TIM HENMAN: That is his big weapon, the forehand and the backhand, he

can take the ball early and generate a lot of power, but for me, it was

his service that lets him down, he was never able to get a foothold on

his own serve, serving at less than 50% on the first serves and when the

first or second was going in, he was losing more than half the points, so

if you are not holding your own serve, it will give you no platform

to attack your opponent's serve and Djokovic was up in the mid-70s on

first serve percentage and was dominating, so there was only going

to be one winner. We talked about Stan Wawrinka, he has the big shots,

and that is possibly why he does better than others against him. If

you can take the match away from your opponent sometimes, that is

going to work in your favour. I wonder what Michael Chang works on

with Kate Nishikori. We are talking about a fabulous player who was in

the US Open final. He is a darn sight better than I ever was, so I

am not going to criticise Nishikori, but it is what Tim was talking about

in the commentary, do you stop yourself from being 5-10 in the

world for your career and say, how am I going to be in the top four? Or

do you say I am making X million a year, I have a storage existence and

everything is good? It would be hard to reconstruct his game but it would

be hard to beat Markovic. -- Djokovic. If you break down

Nishikori's game and say how can he improve it, it is hard. He doesn't

serve consistently and if he is not serving that big, there is even more

reason to get first serves in the court. But his baseline game, he

moves great, forehand and backhand, he can change direction and go down

the line, I don't think you can improve that much. Is he going to

come to the net? Not really, he doesn't have the stature or the

technique on his volleys, so in terms of maximising his potential,

he has got to be pretty close to it and then he goes up against Djokovic

in the tour ending championships, the top eight in the world, and only

wins two games. You have to look at it and say there is a huge coping

class that perhaps Nishikori is never going to close. -- gulf in

class. It is very difficult to find a way to beat Djokovic and Andy

Murray hasn't been close in recent matches. He will start his campaign

tomorrow against David Ferrer, and let's see how he is repairing. It is

awkward, with the Davis Cup taking place next week, he is mixing it

between the clay and the heart. He has been talking to Russell Fuller.

Monday to Thursday on the clay, and it was good, the body felt good, a

lot of moving and sliding around, just trying to get my body used to

that, obviously with the Davis Cup final coming up. How difficult a

decision was it to play here? You told us after the semifinal you were

in two minds whether it would be possible to play the World Tour

finals on hard courts and the Davis Cup final on clay? I wasn't

necessarily in two minds, it is just that I know the risk of me of moving

around surfaces, especially when I am going on to play and that switch

has been problematic for me in the past -- on to clay. I needed to make

sure I got time on the clay to test it out because of my back didn't

respond well to the change, then I don't want to be injuring myself the

week before the Davis Cup. You know, thankfully, this week has gone well

physically and I have felt well, doing some work Bedene is good work

with my team, so it is always going to be impossible to get the perfect

balance and preparation for both but I have done the best I could. The

positives of being here is you get competition against the very best in

the world but is it also a concern if you have a deep run and you are

playing gruelling matches against the likes of Djokovic and Federer? I

haven't really thought about it like that, to be honest. I do think that

it is a plus to get match practice in against the best players,

regardless of the surface. Obviously, it is indoors, which is

good, but, yeah, I haven't really thought about it like that.

Obviously all of the matches here are tough. I guess you could be

tired by the end of it but also, there is not much better preparation

than playing against the best players in the world if you're

trying to get ready for something. Given the fact that you have

practised predominantly on clay this week, how high are your expectations

for this event? I think I have to be realistic at the beginning of the

event, my first match, my timing might not be perfect or as I would

like, but I do think that you can get that back very, very quickly and

I'll have had three days of practice on the hard courts before I play my

first round and David Ferrer is obviously a great, great player, he

has been around at the top of the game for a long time, but also I

will hit a lot of balls in that match, there will be long rallies

and I will have an opportunity to get rhythm, which is positive. Have

you had any moment since Paris to think about how you land a few more

blows on Djokovic or Roger Federer? You said after losing the final bet

that that is very much the ambition the next season, working out why you

used to have so much success against them? Yes, I have thought about it a

lot, I have had some chats with my team and thought about things myself

and I do feel I have learned a little bit there, but the test is to

do it on the match court as well and hopefully I will get a chance to do

that this week. They both think they are more aggressive against you now

than they used to be, how do you best counter that? Well, I mean, if

someone is being more aggressive against you, then obviously, you are

either playing too defensively or you can be more offensive yourself

and try to push them away from the baseline, but I think there is more

to it than just what does playing aggressively actually mean? You

know, there is a lot to that and I think looking at patterns of play

and shot selection and stuff is a better way of looking at it.

SUE BARKER: The person he will be worrying about right now is David

Ferrer, because he takes on David Ferrer tomorrow here at the O2

Arena, and you will see that live with us at 2pm on BBC Two. It is a

tricky old... Very tricky preparation for him, for the clay.

When you look at it, the World Tour finals followed by the Davis Cup

final, hopefully Andy will view it as a nice problem to have. Yes, he

has to change service but he is in great shape and to play here, he is

playing against the best of the world and if he has a good run, it

will give him the confidence against the toughest opposition and he will

go into Belgium full of confidence. And he will want to do really well

here, getting matches, getting wins, that is what you want. He is in

great shape at the moment, he has set his stall out this year, he

wants to win the Davis Cup. I don't think we will see him in the team

next year, perhaps the first match. But the effort and energy he has put

in, I just don't want him injured because the Davis Cup is a priority

for him but I always thought he would be here and I am glad he is.

And luckily, the back has stood up so far in practice. Thank you very

much, we are back tomorrow at 2pm on BBC Two but today, for Novak

Djokovic, it was relentless pressure. He is a treat to watch but

a nightmare to play against, as Nishikori found out. From all of us,

goodbye. All of my heart obviously goes back to the families of the

lost once and it is really devastating. -- lost ones.