"I think Tsitsipas will quit tennis if he loses to Novak Djokovic one more time" - Tennis fans react to Serb's ninth straight win over Greek

Novak Djokovic kicked off his 2022 ATP Finals campaign with a straight-sets win over Stefanos Tsitsipas on Monday, beating the third-ranked player 6-4, 7-6(4) in one hour and 38 minutes.

The entire match witnessed the sole break point in the very first game, putting the Serb in a commanding position. While he finished with 33 winners and two unforced errors, Tsitsipas hit 24 winners with no unforced errors. Looking for a record-equalling sixth title in Turin, the 35-year-old became the first-ever man to win 60 matches against the top three players.

It was the 12th meeting on the tour between the two ace players. However, after winning two out of their first three matches in the rivalry, the 24-year-old Greek has now lost nine consecutive contests. The head-to-head stands at 10-2 in favor of the 21-time Grand Slam winner.

Although fans were thrilled to see Djokovic at his best and heaped praise on him, they raised concerns over Tsitsipas' poor run against the Serb.

"Is it just a question of their styles that explains how one-sided their rivalry has become? I mean Stef consistently brings the best tennis he can against this guy and for the last two years and 9 matches it's not been enough. I don't have a clue what he can do to improve his game against Djok, but it's astounding to see Djok go on a nine-match win streak against a guy as good as stef, Bravo Nole," a fan wrote.

"I really think he listened to that Djokovic interview where he said "Stefanos came back, he got the crowd on his side, it probably helped" and he took it to heart. Little did he know that was Novak's plan all along, to get the crowd against him so he can annihilate his foe. We know how USO 2021 Final ended with them being on his side," another user posted.

Here are a few more fan reactions:

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"We both knew it would be a tight match" - Novak Djokovic after winning against Stefanos Tsitsipas

Novak Djokovic (L) and Stefanos Tsitsipas.

In an on-court interview after winning the first ATP Finals round-robin match against Stefanos Tsitsipas, Novak Djokovic stated the importance of getting an early break in the first game and how it boosted his confidence right away.

“The first game was very important to break his serve,” he said. “Starting with a break of serve is obviously a huge boost in confidence and relief as well because we both knew it would be a tight match. We have played some really close matches in the past few tournaments against each other. It was very important to start off well. I held my serve really well throughout the match. I played a great tie-break, very solid all the way through.”

Djokovic will face Andrey Rublev in his second match on Wednesday.