Djokovic can secure progress against Murray stand-in Tipsarevic

Novak Djokovic has dominated tennis in 2011 and it will take more than one defeat to derail his quest for yet another title.

After winning three Grand Slam titles – the Austalian Open, Wimbledon and the US Open – he came into the ATP World Tour Finals as the favourite.

However, continuing injury troubles have seen him get off to a somewhat laboured start that was compounded by his capitulation in two sets against Spain’s David Ferrer on Wednesday.

Djokovic was dreadful in his 6-3, 6-1 defeat against the Spaniard and admitted he will need to play much better against fellow Serb Janko Tipsarevic this Friday.

Speaking following his defeat, Djokovic said: “I played a terrible, terrible match.

“If I don’t play 50 per cent better than I did tonight, I don’t think I’ll have any chance.

“I’m not playing well. That’s a fact. Maybe it’s because of the length of the season.”

Even if Djokovic is feeling the effects of a long season – he’s won ten events this year and played maybe more tennis than anyone else on the tour – it’s important to remember just how much better he is than his compatriot.

The Ferrer defeat was just his fifth of the season and he remains the big favourite at 1/3 for this crucial clash against a player he has played four times and defeated four times.

Tipsarevic was only drafted in as a last minute replacement for the injured Andy Murray and backing the World No.1 to get through this in straight sets looks an extremely tempting proposition at 5/6 – regardless of how he’s played so far in this tournament.