Novak Djokovic will finish the year as world number
one for a record-extending eighth time after beating Holger Rune 7-6 (7/4), 6-7
(1/7), 6-3 in his opening match at the ATP Finals on Sunday.
The 24-time Grand Slam champion needed just one win or
a defeat for young rival Carlos Alcaraz in order to secure top spot in the ATP
rankings for 2023 and prevailed in a three-hour Green Group clash with spirited
debutant Rune.
Djokovic, on a run of 19 straight wins, has had an
age-defying year, winning three Slams to become the all-time record winner of
major titles.
The 36-year-old came into the Finals in Turin off the
back of his seventh triumph at the Paris Masters, his 40th victory at a Masters
100 event.
Those are two more records to add to a long and
growing list for Djokovic, who is hunting a seventh Finals title which would
take him one ahead of retired great Roger Federer.
“It means a lot. You could see that there were a lot
of emotions on the court,” said Djokovic.
“I could feel it, I was very eager to win the match
and get that monkey off my back… Obviously a big objective, a big goal has
been achieved, everything else now is a bonus.”
Djokovic looked on course for victory when he took a
brutal opening set-in decisive fashion, prevailing in the tie-break with a
stunning cross-court return winner.
And the match looked to have turned decisively in the
third game of the second set, when after Rune won the first two Djokovic broke
back in a brilliant 11-point game eventually won at the third attempt.
Rune kept plugging away, however, and after the pair
slugged each other with bigger and bigger hits Djokovic slipped in the
tie-break, missing a simple volley to draw level on the second point and then
collapsing to concede the set.
But after briefly losing it for allowing Rune to break
back in game three of the third set, kicking his rackets in a rage, Djokovic
composed himself and saw out a historic win.
“I found a way to win today against an opponent who
played brilliantly… he had a lot of courage today,” added Djokovic in
Italian.
“If I want to keep up with these youngsters I’m going
to have to work even harder!”
Sinner off the mark
Home hope Jannik Sinner got off to a near-perfect
start by beating Stefanos Tsitsipas in straight sets, 6-4, 6-4, delighting the
crowd in Italy’s northwest.
Sinner has had the best season of his career to date,
winning four tournaments and is set to become the first Italian ever to finish
a season in the ATP top five.
The 22-year-old comfortably dealt with 2019 champion
Tsitsipas in front of an enthusiastic crowd, not dropping a service game nor
facing a break point in the whole match.
“The atmosphere was really, really nice. It’s huge
pleasure for me to play here in Turin, in Italy,” Sinner told reporters.
“Obviously a little bit more pressure, but I managed
it really well today, so I’m happy.”
Afterwards Greek Tsitsipas denied he had any physical
problems even though he looked way below his best, telling reporters “I’m
healthy. I’m ready to compete.”
The 25-year-old had to play down reports of an elbow
injury which curtailed practice ahead of his tournament opener.
“I’m absolutely fine and I’m ready to play this
tournament. Turin is one of the most important events of the year for me,” he
said.
On Monday Alcaraz makes his ATP Finals debut in the
Red Group against Alexander Zverev, the second seed Djokovic’s closest
challenger.
However, the Wimbledon champion is in uncertain form
after being dumped out of the Paris Masters by Russian qualifier Roman
Safiullin following return from an injury lay-off.
The Spaniard hadn’t played since the Shanghai Masters
in early October due to lower back and left foot problems.
AFP
