TURIN, Italy (AFP) — Novak Djokovic claimed yet another record on Sunday with his seventh ATP Finals title, sweeping aside local hero Jannik Sinner 6-3, 6-3 in Turin and leaving tennis fans wondering when he will relinquish his tennis dominance.
Djokovic came into the Finals at the end of an age-defying year which has brought three Grand Slams, taking his total to an all-time best of 24, and a 40th Masters 1000 title.
He will clock a 400th week at world No. 1 after crowning an incredible season — in which he also reached the Wimbledon final — by moving clear of retired great Roger Federer in victories at the season-ending tournament.
The 36-year-old took his record-breaking crown by beating in straights sets the game’s best two young players in Sinner and vanquished semifinalist Carlos Alcaraz, showing that he still has plenty to give with the Paris Olympics around the corner and a gold medal the only major title missing from his list of honors.
“Very special, one of the best seasons I’ve had in my life, no doubt. To crown it with a win against a hometown hero in Jannik, who has played amazing tennis all week, is phenomenal,” Djokovic said.
“I’m very proud of the performances of the last two days against Alcaraz and Sinner, who are probably the two best players in the world, next to me and Medvedev at the moment. The way they have been playing I had to step it up.”
Sinner was bidding to become the first ever Italian to win the Finals and looked like the right man to do it after his impressive group stage win over Djokovic.
But the 22-year-old, like Alcaraz in Saturday’s semi, simply could not handle Djokovic, a man on a mission who hit his best form at exactly the right time in the tournament.
It is a testament however to how far Sinner, a four-time winner this year, has come in the past year that he had Djokovic’s tournament fate in his hands at the end of the group stage, when defeat by Holger Rune would have sent the Serb home early.
Sinner saved Djokovic’s skin and in the end paid for it in the final, but the quality of his performances at the Pala Alpitour has been a cause for much optimism in Italy and suggests that he should be a Grand Slam contender next season.
“We’ve seen today that there’s still plenty to work on. But we can look at the positives from this season,” Sinner said.
“When I started this season I was one type of player, now I’m another. Let’s see how we go next season.”
