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Novak Djoković won the title in Turin at the end of the season
Photo:
Antonio Calanni/AP
Wimbledon champion Novak Djoković triumphed for the first time since 2015 at the ATP Finals of the season's eight best tennis professionals.
The 35-year-old Serb won the final in Turin on Sunday against the Norwegian French Open and US Open finalist Casper Ruud 7: 5, 6: 3.
With his sixth tournament victory at the prestigious end of the year, Djoković drew level with the Swiss record holder Roger Federer, who has since retired.
The winner, who was also unbeaten in the preliminary rounds, secured a record prize money of 4.7 million US dollars.
The defending champion was Alexander Zverev from Hamburg, who is still on break after his foot injury.
On Saturday, Zverev also published a positive corona test, which made preparations for a return even more difficult.
Fast forward to the title
In the final against Ruud, Djoković, who only dropped one set in the entire tournament, hardly showed any weaknesses.
After 1:32 hours, the favorite used his first match point with an ace for the title and had significantly less trouble than with semi-final opponent Taylor Fritz.
At 7: 6 (7: 5), 7: 6 (8: 6) Djoković had to fight his way through the tie break.
Despite Djoković's success, the Spaniard Carlos Alcaraz, who was injured in Turin, ended the year as number one in the world rankings.
From the group of participants in Turin, only his compatriot and Grand Slam record winner Rafael Nadal and the Greek Stefanos Tsitsipas could have conquered the top position by winning the tournament, but both failed in the preliminary round.
At the Australian Open at the beginning of the new season, Djoković will be one of the top favorites again.
Unlike this year, when he had to leave Australia again after a legal dispute due to his missing coronavirus vaccination, Djoković will be allowed to participate in 2023.
cev/dpa/sid