Novak Djokovic is unstoppable at the end of the tennis season. The Serbian tennis pro won the ATP Finals for the sixth time.
With his first success at the ATP Finals since 2015, Wimbledon champion Novak Djokovic chose to succeed Olympic champion Alexander Zverev on Sunday (November 20, 2022).
The 35-year-old Serbian tennis star was also unstoppable in the final in Turin in a 7: 5, 6: 3 against the Norwegian French Open and US Open finalist Casper Ruud. As champion who was also undefeated in the preliminary round, Djokovic secured a record bonus of 4.7 million US dollars, which Zverev had no chance of winning this year. The Hamburger has been pausing for months as a result of his foot ligament injury and has just had to accept another small setback with a positive corona test.
“Seven years – that’s a long time. The fact that I’ve waited seven years for this makes the win all the sweeter and bigger”said Djokovic.
Djokovic doesn’t seem fresh at first
Djokovic didn’t seem physically comfortable against Ruud at the start. However, the Serbian tournament favorite quickly recovered, improved more and more – and, to the delight of his children Stefan and Tara, deservedly prevailed as fans in the box. The 21-time Grand Slam tournament winner held his service games more confidently than Ruud from the start and avoided the tie-break with the first break of the match to make it 7: 5 in the first set.
In the semifinals against the American Taylor Fritz on Saturday, Djokovic had won the tie-break twice more and had more problems than Ruud against the Russian Andrei Rublew. After the four Grand Slam tournaments, the ATP Finals are considered the most important event in tennis. Djokovic is now considered the unofficial world champion and, with his sixth success at the traditional end-of-year tournament, drew level with the Swiss Roger Federer, who has since retired.
Djokovic in top form – and top favorite in Australia
In the beginning he didn’t need his highest level for this, but he got better and better and superior. In the second set, Djokovic pulled away early with the break to make it 3-1 and gave Ruud no more chances. His message to the competition is clear: Djokovic wants to keep winning and will now be a top favorite again at the Australian Open at the beginning of the new season. Unlike this year, when he had to leave Australia again after a legal dispute due to his missing coronavirus vaccination, Djokovic will be allowed to participate in 2023.